Under Milk Wood

by

Dylan Thomas

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Under Milk Wood Characters

First Voice

First Voice is one of Under Milk Wood’s two omniscient narrators. First Voice works with Second Voice to guide the listener through Llareggub, the small seaside village where the play takes place, drawing attention… read analysis of First Voice

Second Voice

Second Voice is one of Under Milk Wood’s two omniscient narrators. Second Voice works with First Voice to provide details and imagery that establish the play’s setting and introduce the audience to the play’s… read analysis of Second Voice

Captain Cat

Captain Cat is a blind, elderly sea captain. He can recognize different characters by the sound of their footsteps and spends much of the play sitting beside a window and commenting on the townspeople as… read analysis of Captain Cat

Polly Garter

Polly Garter is a single mother who has many children and dreams of babies. She has affairs with many of Llareggub’s married men and is the subject of much gossip: when the chattering women who… read analysis of Polly Garter

Reverend Eli Jenkins

Reverend Eli Jenkins is Llareggub’s reverend, preacher, and poet. He addresses the town in the poetic daily sermons he delivers from his doorway, and he is constantly writing, thinking about, reciting, and praising poetry. He… read analysis of Reverend Eli Jenkins
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Mr. Mog Edwards

Mr. Mog Edwards is Llareggub’s tall, handsome draper. He and Miss Myfanwy Price are in love with each other, though they never meet in person, and their romance is limited to amorous dreams and the… read analysis of Mr. Mog Edwards

Miss Myfanwy Price

Miss Myfanwy Price is Llareggub’s dressmaker and sweetshop-keeper. She is in love with Mr. Mog Edwards, though they never meet in person, and their romance is limited to amorous dreams and the exchange of… read analysis of Miss Myfanwy Price

Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard

Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard runs the Bay House, Llareggub’s boarding house. She is obsessed with neatness, so much so that she hesitates to take in any guests, for fear that they’ll make too much of a mess… read analysis of Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard

Lily Smalls

Lily Smalls is Mrs. Beynon’s maid. She bemoans her dull existence as a maid and dreams of having a rich lover and an exciting life. Lily promises Mrs. Beynon that Butcher Beynon is lying… read analysis of Lily Smalls

Gossamer Beynon

Gossamer Beynon is a schoolteacher and the daughter of Butcher Beynon. She has erotic dreams about an animal-like lover. Gossamer is attracted to Sinbad Sailors and doesn’t care that he’s not as refined or… read analysis of Gossamer Beynon

Mary Ann Sailors

Mary Ann Sailors is the grandmother of Sinbad Sailors. Her disapproval is what prevents Sinbad from pursuing a romance with Gossamer Beynon. Mary Ann Sailors is deeply religious and dreams of the Garden… read analysis of Mary Ann Sailors

Mrs. Dai Bread Two

Mrs. Dai Bread Two is Dai Bread’s second wife. She is an exotic, sultry “gypsy” woman who tells fortunes in her crystal ball and dresses seductively. Mrs. Dai Bread Two is the subject of… read analysis of Mrs. Dai Bread Two

Nogood Boyo

Nogood Boyo is a lazy, mischievous fisherman. He dreams of “nothing” and has dirty thoughts about Mrs. Dai Bread Two in a wet corset. He claims that he “want[s] to be good Boyo, but no… read analysis of Nogood Boyo

Voice of a Guide-Book

The Voice of a Guide-Book interrupts First Voice and Second Voice’s narration early in the play to give the listener an overview of Llareggub’s physical, historical, and social characteristics. Although the Guide-Book admits that… read analysis of Voice of a Guide-Book

Mrs. Pugh

Mrs. Pugh is the nagging, insufferable wife of Mr. Pugh, Llareggub’s schoolmaster. She repeatedly calls her husband a pig and remains mostly unaware of his fantasies about poisoning her, though Willy Nilly, the… read analysis of Mrs. Pugh

Sinbad Sailors

Sinbad Sailors operates Sailors Arms, a local pub. Sinbad is attracted to Gossamer Beynon but the disapproval of his grandmother, Mary Ann Sailors, prevents him from pursuing her. He also fears that his lack… read analysis of Sinbad Sailors
Minor Characters
First Drowned
First Drowned is one of the deceased former shipmates who haunts Captain Cat’s dreams. First Drowned refers to himself as “Curly Bevan” and pesters Cat with questions about life among the living.
Second Drowned
Second Drowned is one of the deceased former shipmates who haunts Captain Cat’s dreams. Second Drowned refers to himself as “Tom-Fred the donkeyman” and reminds Captain Cat that they once shared the same woman, Rosie Probert.
Rosie Probert
Rosie Probert is Captain Cat’s deceased former lover who visits him in his dreams. In Cat’s dreams, he and Rosie reminisce about their romance until Rosie eventually slips “into the darkness” of “forgetting,” which causes Cat to cry in his sleep.
Third Drowned
Third Drowned is one of the deceased former shipmates who haunts Captain Cat’s dreams. He refers to himself as “Jonah Jarvis” and pesters Cat with questions about life among the living.
Fourth Drowned
Fourth Drowned is one of the deceased former shipmates who haunts Captain Cat’s dreams. He refers to himself as “Alfred Pomeroy Jones” and pesters Cat with questions about life among the living.
Fifth Drowned
Fifth Drowned is one of the deceased former shipmates who haunts Captain Cat’s dreams. He pesters Cat with questions about life among the living.
Jack Black
Jack Black is Llareggub’s cobbler. He delights in (and dreams about) venturing into Milk Wood to break up the sinful lovers’ trysts that take place there.
Mr. Waldo
Mr. Waldo is Llareggub’s “rabbit catcher, barber, herbalist, cat doctor, quack.” He is an adulterous, alcoholic troublemaker who is having an affair with Polly Garter. Mr. Waldo dreams about his childhood and his many failed marriages.
Waldo’s Wife
Waldo’s wife is Blodwen Waldo. In Mr. Waldo’s dreams, his wife bemoans her miserable marriage and frets over what the neighbors will say about her adulterous husband.
Mr. Ogmore
Mr. Ogmore is one of Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard’s deceased former husbands. He was a linoleum salesman when he was alive. Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard dreams about nagging Mr. Ogmore and Mr. Pritchard, her other deceased husband.
Mr. Pritchard
Mr. Pritchard is one of Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard’s deceased former husbands. A “failed bookmaker,” Pritchard committed suicide “ironically” by ingesting cleaning solution. Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard dreams about nagging Mr. Pritchard and Mr. Ogmore, her other deceased husband.
Organ Morgan
Organ Morgan is Llareggub’s organist. He’s constantly practicing the organ, thinking about music, and admiring the classical masters, such as Bach and Palestrina. He prioritizes music over his wife, Mrs. Organ Morgan, whom he often ignores.
Mrs. Organ Morgan
Mrs. Organ Morgan is Organ Morgan’s wife. She works at the town’s general store and feels ignored by her husband, who is too busy practicing the organ and thinking about music to listen to her.
Utah Watkins
Utah Watkins operates Salt Lake Farm, which is located on Llareggub Hill. He dreams of counting sheep that resemble his wife, Mrs. Utah Watkins.
Mrs. Utah Watkins
Mrs. Utah Watkins is the wife of Utah Watkins. Her husband dreams of sheep that resemble her.
Ocky Milkman
Ocky Milkman is Llareggub’s milkman. He dilutes his milk so much that Captain Cat humorously calls it “fresh as dew,” alluding to the milk’s watery consistency. Ocky dreams of pouring his milk into the river, regardless of the cost.
Mae Rose Cottage
Mae Rose Cottage is Mrs. Rose Cottage’s oldest child. She is 17 years old and dreams of fanciful romances. She spends the day lying on Llareggub Hill, caressing herself and vowing to sin until she explodes, though, according to Captain Cat, she hasn’t had her first kiss.
Butcher Beynon
Butcher Beynon is Llareggub’s butcher. He dreams of hunting “wild giblets.” He teases his wife, Mrs. Beynon, about the meats he sells, claiming they come from questionable sources like cats and dogs.
Mrs. Beynon
Mrs. Beynon is the wife of Butcher Beynon. She believes her husband when he teases her about the questionable source of the meats they eat, and she dreams that he is arrested for selling things like “owlmeat, dogs’ eyes, [and] manchop.”
Dai Bread
Dai Bread is Llareggub’s baker. He has two wives, Mrs. Dai Bread One and Mrs. Dai Bread Two, but still dreams of “harems.”
Mrs. Dai Bread One
Mrs. Dai Bread One is Dai Bread’s plain and simple first wife. Mrs. Dai Bread Two relays to her a vision she sees in her crystal ball, in which Dai Bread is in bed with two women.
Little Willy Weazel
Little Willy Weazel is Polly Garter’s lover who died many years ago. Polly mourns his death and sings songs about him as she completes her daily chores.
Lord Cut-Glass
Lord Cut-Glass is a paranoid, elderly man who may be mentally ill. He dreams of ticking clocks, and his kitchen walls are adorned with 66 clocks, all set to a different time, in order to be alert enough to fend off potential intruders.
Mr. Pugh
Mr. Pugh is Llareggub’s schoolmaster. He dreams about poisoning his unpleasant wife, Mrs. Pugh. Mr. Pugh fantasizes about killing Mrs. Pugh during the day as well, reading and taking notes on a book about famous poisoners.
Willy Nilly
Willy Nilly is Llareggub’s postman. He and his wife, Mrs. Willy Nilly, steam open and read the townspeople’s correspondence, and he shares the information he gleans from their snooping with the townspeople as he delivers the mail.
Mrs. Willy Nilly
Mrs. Willy Nilly is the wife of Willy Nilly, Llareggub’s postman. She and Willy Nilly steam open and read the townspeople’s mail before Willy Nilly delivers it.
Cherry Owen
Cherry Owen is a drunkard and troublemaker who frequents Sailors Arms. He is married to Mrs. Cherry Owen, who eagerly informs him of the drunken antics he’s invariably too inebriated to remember himself.
Mrs. Cherry Owen
Mrs. Cherry Owen is the wife of Cherry Owen. The Owens have a happy marriage, and Mrs. Cherry Owen takes pleasure in telling her husband all about the drunken antics he can’t recall on his own.
Evans the Death
Evans the Death is Llareggub’s undertaker. He dreams of a childhood memory of stealing currants from his mother and is afraid of his own mortality.
Bessie Bighead
Bessie Bighead is a homely woman who works for Mr. Utah Watkins at Salt Lake Farm. She dreams of the deceased Gomer Owen, who was her only kiss, though he only kissed her on a dare. Bessie was conceived in Milk Wood and born in a barn.
Gwennie
Gwennie is a young schoolgirl who orders the schoolboys to kiss her “where she says” or give her a penny. When a boy named Dicky refuses to kiss Gwennie in Milk Wood and doesn’t have a penny to offer her instead, the children chase him down the hill.
Dicky
Dicky is a schoolboy who refuses Gwennie’s order to kiss her in Milk Wood, citing his mother’s disapproval. When Dicky doesn’t have a penny to offer Gwennie instead, the children chase him down the hill.
PC Attila Rees
PC (Police Constable) Attila Rees is a local policeman. He dreams of relieving himself in his helmet and knows he’ll regret it in the morning.
Mr. and Mrs. Floyd
Mr. and Mrs. Floyd, the cocklers, are an elderly couple who don’t dream and sleep “like two old kippers in a box.”