Post by sir on Feb 11, 2010 8:08:59 GMT -5
From the exam board: this is a coursework essay, not an exam script but it is worth reading just to help support your understanding. The exam board thought it scraped a C grade.
A study of Love and Marriage in Under Milk Wood.
Under Milk Wood is a radio play set in Llareggub an imaginary village based on New Quay. We see a
number of marriages and relationships in the play.
Mr. and Mrs. Pughs' marriage isn't a happy one. Anything he does for her is never good enough. He is
scared of her and wants to kill her. When we first meet him he is taking her a cup of tea and while he is
walking to her room he says "Here's your arsenic, dear." "And your weedkiller biscuit." "[Door creaks
open] . . . nice tea, dear." She is nosy and she spies on Polly Garter cleaning the step. She says,
"She's tucked her dress in her bloomers oh, the baggage!" She nags everybody even "the salt-cellar"
and she is never happy. There are probably a lot of marriages like theirs. She is very selfish and she
doesn't think of her husband's feelings.
Mr. Pugh buys a book of "Lives of the Great Poisoners." He doesn't really want to kill his wife and there
is a contrast between what he says and what he does. He enjoys thinking about it and imagining what
he could do with his "murdering herbs" and "venomous porridge". Dylan Thomas uses the noun "viper"
and turns it into a verb which, implies that the poison would be fast and deadly. Dylan Thomas also
uses alliteration "big and black as balloons". This suggests that the poison is working in a forceful way.
Mrs. Pugh says "What's that book by your trough, Mr. Pugh?" Using the word "trough" implies that she
thinks of him as a pig. Dylan Thomas refers to Mrs. Pugh as "sweet as a razor" implying that she is
sharp and deadly, if you get on the wrong side of her. This marriage is not very successful as both
partners seem to dislike eachother.
Dai Bread's marriage is balanced. He has two completely opposite wives but loves them equally. Mrs.
Dai Bread one and two are friends with each other. Neither of them mind the situation in the marriage.
Dai Bread doesn't know lucky he is. He doesn't appreciate them and expects them to do everything for
him which is shown when he says "Ping goes a button, why can't they sew them on." "There's wives for
you." He could sew his buttons himself. Mrs. Dai Bread one is a homely woman "nice to be comfy,
nice to be nice." She doesn't wear clothes for fashion she wears them to be comfortable. Mrs. Dai
Bread two dresses like a tart "gypsied to kill in a silky scarlet petticoat above my knees." She is
completely opposite to Mrs. Dai Bread one. She dresses in a sexy way. She is a woman of the night
"scowling at the sunshine." Dylan Thomas portrays this marriage as what some men would like in a
marriage, a woman who will make a home and look after him but also a sexual woman, for the night.
This is probably every man's dream marriage.
Mrs. Dai Bread two reads Mrs. Dai Bread one's fortune. She gets money from her for doing this. She
tells her Dai Bread is in bed with two women meaning the two of them but Dai Bread chooses one of
the women. Then Mrs. Dai Bread two pretends that the clouds have got in the way, not wanting to hurt
Mrs Dai Bread one's feelings knowing he would choose her, a woman of the night. Mrs. Dai Bread one
hopes it is her. This is shown when she says "Ach, the mean old clouds!" She is probably secretly
jealous of Mrs. Dai Bread two with her "Hard dark thighs". She never shows that she is, which is
probably why they get on so well together. Mrs. Dai Bread two is disgusted when Nogood Boyo offers
her a wet corset, the only thing he has caught all day. She says "No, I won't!" She is obsessed by the
way she looks. Dylan Thomas uses welsh patterns such as "There's wives for you". This is an odd
relationship but it seems to work quite well.
54
Mr. and Mrs. Cherry Owen completely accept each other. They have a very happy marriage. They
haven't got much money or a very big house but they have each other's love. He comes home
completely drunk and messes up their house and she laughs about it. When we first meet Cherry
Owen he says "And then?" Mrs. Cherry Owen says "And then I got you into bed and you breathed all
night like a brewery." This suggests that she accepts everything he does and loves him for it. When
we next meet Cherry Owen he is off down to the pub to get "drunk as a deacon" as he does every
night. He says "I always say she's got two husbands" "one drunk and one sober." And Mrs. Cherry
Owen says "And aren't I a lucky woman? Because I love them both." Unlike most women who don't
like their husbands getting drunk every night, she doesn't mind. She loves him either way sober or
drunk.
Dylan Thomas portrays some of the marriages positive and some negative. By the way he describes
the marriages it is as if he doesn't like women. Dylan Thomas was known for his drinking reminding us
of Mr. and Mrs. Cherry Owen's marriage. Dylan Thomas' wife probably never liked him getting drunk
and probably left him, so this is how he probably would have liked his wife to be like. He describes Mr.
and Mrs. Dai Bread one and two and Mr. and Mrs. Cherry Owens' marriages to be how every man
would love their marriage to be. They would have a homely wife for the daytime and a sexy woman for
the night and also be able to go out drinking every night and the wife not minding. These marriages are
described completely opposite to the reality but they all include love except Mr. and Mrs. Pughs'
marriage. Mr. Pugh likes to fantasise about poisoning Mrs. Pugh and she is never happy with anything
he does for her. I think secretly they love each other but they certainly don't show it. In Under Milk
Wood sexual innuendo is everywhere and Dylan Thomas is suggesting that sex is an important part of
marriage. For this reason, the Owens and Dai bread's marriage seem happy while the Pughs are
miserable.
Exam board comments:
How does Dylan Thomas describe the different types of love and marriage in Under
Milk Wood?
This candidate is attempting the 'Welsh' version of the English Specification. The Welsh
Relevance essay is based on Under Milk Wood and focuses upon the topics of love and
marriage within the radio play. It is clear from the outset that the student takes a descriptive
approach considering a few of the characters' relationships in detail starting with the Pughs.
The ideas are well supported by textual reference and occasionally the student begins to
analyse the language in a rudimentary fashion. ('Dylan Thomas uses the noun viper and turns
it into a verb…fast and deadly.') However, such cases are rare and the essay mostly relies on
describing the characters. The work on Dai Bread is well handled with another brief comment
on language while the part of the essay devoted to Mr. and Mrs Cherry Owen is again
appropriately supported by selected textual reference. The concluding paragraph gives a brief
oversight of the relationships but does not add greatly to the essay as a whole. 'Analytic skill'
(B grade criteria) is only rarely seen in this essay but the C grade criteria of 'insight' when
considering the 'characters' is fulfilled. The essay goes beyond the D grade criteria of
'understanding'. A thorough knowledge of the play is apparent and the strength of the essay
lies in the student's ability to integrate appropriate quotations into a basically descriptive
framework. A mark of 13 seems to be appropriate for the achievement here.
A study of Love and Marriage in Under Milk Wood.
Under Milk Wood is a radio play set in Llareggub an imaginary village based on New Quay. We see a
number of marriages and relationships in the play.
Mr. and Mrs. Pughs' marriage isn't a happy one. Anything he does for her is never good enough. He is
scared of her and wants to kill her. When we first meet him he is taking her a cup of tea and while he is
walking to her room he says "Here's your arsenic, dear." "And your weedkiller biscuit." "[Door creaks
open] . . . nice tea, dear." She is nosy and she spies on Polly Garter cleaning the step. She says,
"She's tucked her dress in her bloomers oh, the baggage!" She nags everybody even "the salt-cellar"
and she is never happy. There are probably a lot of marriages like theirs. She is very selfish and she
doesn't think of her husband's feelings.
Mr. Pugh buys a book of "Lives of the Great Poisoners." He doesn't really want to kill his wife and there
is a contrast between what he says and what he does. He enjoys thinking about it and imagining what
he could do with his "murdering herbs" and "venomous porridge". Dylan Thomas uses the noun "viper"
and turns it into a verb which, implies that the poison would be fast and deadly. Dylan Thomas also
uses alliteration "big and black as balloons". This suggests that the poison is working in a forceful way.
Mrs. Pugh says "What's that book by your trough, Mr. Pugh?" Using the word "trough" implies that she
thinks of him as a pig. Dylan Thomas refers to Mrs. Pugh as "sweet as a razor" implying that she is
sharp and deadly, if you get on the wrong side of her. This marriage is not very successful as both
partners seem to dislike eachother.
Dai Bread's marriage is balanced. He has two completely opposite wives but loves them equally. Mrs.
Dai Bread one and two are friends with each other. Neither of them mind the situation in the marriage.
Dai Bread doesn't know lucky he is. He doesn't appreciate them and expects them to do everything for
him which is shown when he says "Ping goes a button, why can't they sew them on." "There's wives for
you." He could sew his buttons himself. Mrs. Dai Bread one is a homely woman "nice to be comfy,
nice to be nice." She doesn't wear clothes for fashion she wears them to be comfortable. Mrs. Dai
Bread two dresses like a tart "gypsied to kill in a silky scarlet petticoat above my knees." She is
completely opposite to Mrs. Dai Bread one. She dresses in a sexy way. She is a woman of the night
"scowling at the sunshine." Dylan Thomas portrays this marriage as what some men would like in a
marriage, a woman who will make a home and look after him but also a sexual woman, for the night.
This is probably every man's dream marriage.
Mrs. Dai Bread two reads Mrs. Dai Bread one's fortune. She gets money from her for doing this. She
tells her Dai Bread is in bed with two women meaning the two of them but Dai Bread chooses one of
the women. Then Mrs. Dai Bread two pretends that the clouds have got in the way, not wanting to hurt
Mrs Dai Bread one's feelings knowing he would choose her, a woman of the night. Mrs. Dai Bread one
hopes it is her. This is shown when she says "Ach, the mean old clouds!" She is probably secretly
jealous of Mrs. Dai Bread two with her "Hard dark thighs". She never shows that she is, which is
probably why they get on so well together. Mrs. Dai Bread two is disgusted when Nogood Boyo offers
her a wet corset, the only thing he has caught all day. She says "No, I won't!" She is obsessed by the
way she looks. Dylan Thomas uses welsh patterns such as "There's wives for you". This is an odd
relationship but it seems to work quite well.
54
Mr. and Mrs. Cherry Owen completely accept each other. They have a very happy marriage. They
haven't got much money or a very big house but they have each other's love. He comes home
completely drunk and messes up their house and she laughs about it. When we first meet Cherry
Owen he says "And then?" Mrs. Cherry Owen says "And then I got you into bed and you breathed all
night like a brewery." This suggests that she accepts everything he does and loves him for it. When
we next meet Cherry Owen he is off down to the pub to get "drunk as a deacon" as he does every
night. He says "I always say she's got two husbands" "one drunk and one sober." And Mrs. Cherry
Owen says "And aren't I a lucky woman? Because I love them both." Unlike most women who don't
like their husbands getting drunk every night, she doesn't mind. She loves him either way sober or
drunk.
Dylan Thomas portrays some of the marriages positive and some negative. By the way he describes
the marriages it is as if he doesn't like women. Dylan Thomas was known for his drinking reminding us
of Mr. and Mrs. Cherry Owen's marriage. Dylan Thomas' wife probably never liked him getting drunk
and probably left him, so this is how he probably would have liked his wife to be like. He describes Mr.
and Mrs. Dai Bread one and two and Mr. and Mrs. Cherry Owens' marriages to be how every man
would love their marriage to be. They would have a homely wife for the daytime and a sexy woman for
the night and also be able to go out drinking every night and the wife not minding. These marriages are
described completely opposite to the reality but they all include love except Mr. and Mrs. Pughs'
marriage. Mr. Pugh likes to fantasise about poisoning Mrs. Pugh and she is never happy with anything
he does for her. I think secretly they love each other but they certainly don't show it. In Under Milk
Wood sexual innuendo is everywhere and Dylan Thomas is suggesting that sex is an important part of
marriage. For this reason, the Owens and Dai bread's marriage seem happy while the Pughs are
miserable.
Exam board comments:
How does Dylan Thomas describe the different types of love and marriage in Under
Milk Wood?
This candidate is attempting the 'Welsh' version of the English Specification. The Welsh
Relevance essay is based on Under Milk Wood and focuses upon the topics of love and
marriage within the radio play. It is clear from the outset that the student takes a descriptive
approach considering a few of the characters' relationships in detail starting with the Pughs.
The ideas are well supported by textual reference and occasionally the student begins to
analyse the language in a rudimentary fashion. ('Dylan Thomas uses the noun viper and turns
it into a verb…fast and deadly.') However, such cases are rare and the essay mostly relies on
describing the characters. The work on Dai Bread is well handled with another brief comment
on language while the part of the essay devoted to Mr. and Mrs Cherry Owen is again
appropriately supported by selected textual reference. The concluding paragraph gives a brief
oversight of the relationships but does not add greatly to the essay as a whole. 'Analytic skill'
(B grade criteria) is only rarely seen in this essay but the C grade criteria of 'insight' when
considering the 'characters' is fulfilled. The essay goes beyond the D grade criteria of
'understanding'. A thorough knowledge of the play is apparent and the strength of the essay
lies in the student's ability to integrate appropriate quotations into a basically descriptive
framework. A mark of 13 seems to be appropriate for the achievement here.