Juxtaposing multiple voices: Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood and Italo Calvino’s The Cosmicomics

The textbook for the ‘Futures’ section of the module opens with a suggestion about postmodernism – ‘postmodernism accepts that the grand narrative has lost its credibility’ (Gupta, 2016, p.11). As such, I have decided to choose Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood and Calvino’s The Cosmicomics, as both texts pack a lot of voices into such small narratives. In this essay I will compare the different ways in which the authors juxtapose voices, and whether or not those voices form a hierarchy. Whilst some aspects of the texts are similar, their form and styles are completely unique, giving me a good level of material to compare and contrast. My main objective is to produce an analysis of the different uses of voice, and the effect on the reader of placing two opposing characters side by side. This assignment will show how these two wildly different postmodern texts approach the same thing.

The first text I’d like to discuss in relation to the question is Under Milk Wood, which is aptly subtitled ‘A Play for Voices’. This title is reflective of the huge range of voices Thomas juxtaposes, placing around sixty characters side-by-side in this short radio drama. The sheer quantity of characters included here mean that we get a very cohesive image of what Llareggub would be like. For example, we are introduced to Myfanwy Price and Mog Edwards who are madly in love and are both dreaming of each other. The language they use is romantic - ‘I am a draper mad with love’, and ‘I will warm your heart by the fire so that you can slip it under your vest when the shop is closed’ (Thomas, 1954, p.7). This is juxtaposed with Mrs. Ogmore Pritchard’s character only a few pages later, who is dreaming of her dead husbands. The dynamic between her and the two men is vastly different to Myfanwy and Mog, and it is evident that their relationships were based on convenience rather than romance. Even In death, the two husbands are subject to her declarative commands – ‘Tell me your tasks, in order’, and ‘before you let the sun in, mind it wipes its shoes’ (pp.13-14). These juxtaposed characters are only the tip of the iceberg in a narrative full of different voices, as both of the scenarios mentioned above happen in the dream sequence at the start of the drama. The narrator describes the setting in the first half of the story as ‘behind the eyes and the secrets of the dreamers’ (p.17). Dylan is therefore not only showing us the character’s public voices, but also their private thoughts inside of their dreams. One critic that explores this idea is Cynthia Davis, who suggests that ‘these scenes reveal more clearly the way that the unconscious shapes its materials to fit personal needs’ (Davis, 1975, p.79). This gives characters like Gossamer Beynon a much wider dynamic, revealing her subconscious desires to find ‘a small, rough, ready man’(pp14) to satisfy her. This dream sequence allows Thomas to convey a sense of duality in his characters voices.

I’ve chosen Calvino’s The Comsmicomics to compare and contrast with Under Milk Wood as their narratives are so different. The Cosmicomics present us with a collection of short stories that are narrated by the cosmic being ‘Qfwfq’ who takes on many different forms depending on the plot’s needs. Unlike Under Milk Wood, this text is narrated by one dominant voice, which although changes forms, is very distinctive throughout the collection. This is shown in the short story openings which all begin with a statement, followed by ‘Old Qfwfq said’ (Calvino, 1968, p.43), ‘Qfwfq narrated’ (p.61), or ‘old Qfwfq recalled’ (p.69). These little reminders explain to the reader that although the setting and characters may have changed, the narrating voice is still the same. Whilst Milk Wood feels like a jumble of different voices with no purpose, The Cosmicomics are a carefully written collection that use characters to bring scientific theorems to life. The textbook states that Calvino desired to ‘cultivate dialogue between literature and science to an all-embracing ‘passion for global culture’’ (Gupta, 2016, p.62). The different voices in stories such as ‘The Aquatic Uncle’ serve to embody different arguments about evolution. For example, Qfwfq in this story believes in the natural progression from sea creature to land mammal in order to survive, which is evident in his description of Lll – ‘In her I saw the perfect, definitive form, born from the conquest of the land that had emerged.’ (p.78). This is juxtaposed with his uncle N’ba-N’ga’s character, who does not see the advantage of leaving the sea, exclaiming ‘He who has fleas in his scales, swims with his belly in the mud!’ (p.73). Qfwfq summarizes, ‘According to my great uncle, the lands that had emerged were a limited phenomenon: they were going to disappear just as they had cropped up’ (p.77). The manner in which they speak is stereotypical of conversations between older and younger generations in real life. Uncle N’ba-N’ga speaks mainly in short, declarative sentences and is unwilling to engage in topics he doesn’t want to talk about. The key difference between the two texts here is authorial intent – Thomas is so focused on juxtaposing characters that his story lacks a real purpose, whereas Calvino uses the voices in his stories to articulate theories about science.

The next thing I’d like to discuss is which literary devices Calvino uses in The Cosmicomics, and where Qfwfq fits into the book’s hierarchy of voices. The multiple first-person narratives in these stories mean that as a reader we get a very fragmented perspective. This works to Calvino’s advantage, as he uses Qfwfq’s friendly ‘story-telling’ style of narration to control pace. The Distance of the moon opens with ‘How well I know – old Qfwfq cried – the rest of you can’t remember, but I can.’ (Calvino, 1968, p.3). This setup is reminiscent of an old man telling you a story by the fire; since Qfwfq has existed for all of space and time, we take his word for it that he knows best. It is this reader-narrator relationship that gives Qfwfq’s voice authority, and places him at the top of the hierarchy of voices. One critic that explores this narrative is Kristi Siegel, who states that ‘Calvino fashions the book into a fictional autobiography.’ (Siegel, 1991, p.44). She then goes on to explore the effects of this style, suggesting that it ‘displays his postmodern impulse to immediately translate experience into text’, eventually deciding that Qfwfq loses his identity in an entirely textual world. I agree with this to an extent, as I think the hierarchy of voices changes from story to story, depending on what he learns. The story ‘At Daybreak’ ends on an optimistic note that ‘everything was just beginning’ (p.31), whereas many of the others end with Qfwfq coming to terms with his own insignificance – ‘space didn’t exist and perhaps had never existed’ (p.42), ‘We had lost all pleasure in this game of chase (…), there was nothing else we could do.’ (p.68). Calvino uses symbolism here to highlight Qfwfq’s naivety, and the infinitude of the universe. Unlike Siegel, I do not think this takes away from his identity, but rather helps us relate to his personal journey. I would argue that Qfwfq’s voice is the one we place the most trust in, as he is so honest about his growth.

The main difference between Under Milk Wood and The Cosmicomics is that rather than use the characters to create a particular narrative, Dylan Thomas lets the language of his voices guide the story. The textbook introduces us to some of Thomas’s literary devices such as the omniscient narrator, which allows us to be privy to the townspeople’s ‘hidden thoughts, desires and sorrows.’ (Gupta, 2016, pp23). It also describes the drama as ‘linguistically adventurous – rich in striking imagery and neologisms.’ These devices are what make Milk Wood sound so velvety when read aloud, and borderline on poetry rather than radio drama. A good example of this is the narrator’s line, ‘See the titbits and topsyturvies, bobs and buttontops, bags and bones’ (Thomas, 1954, p.17), which shows Thomas’ use of alliteration, transferred epithets and neologisms - pushing words like button and tops together to create a more imaginative description. In addition to this, Thomas uses juxtaposing half-rhymes such as ‘dirty, pretty knees’ (p.24), as well as assonance in ‘sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea’ (p.1). All of these techniques reflect how meticulously written Under Milk Wood was and suggest that there is no hierarchy of voices at all – Thomas wants all of his voices to be heard. One critic that supports my argument is Walford Davies, who describes Milk Wood as ‘a literary form unimaginable without people’ (Davies, 2014, p.129), commenting on the mix of prose and poetry that Thomas called ‘prose with blood pressure.’ This shows that Under Milk Wood is undoubtably centered around voices rather than story and is in complete contrast with The Cosmicomics which focuses on story above all else.

Another thing I’d like to explore in this essay is critical reception and the portrayal of women. As we have learnt from the textbook, Under Milk Wood was well received at its time of publication, although there was the possibility that ‘Thomas’ death two months before inclined critics to be generous in their appraisal.’ (Gupta, 2016, p.45). On the flip side of this, the textbook includes a quote that ‘The BBC in Cardiff was absolutely outraged by the programme because they considered it a total slur on the welsh nation.’ (p.46). Thomas’ characters and their voices were accused of ‘playing up to stereotypes of Welshness in order to amuse a largely English audience.’ (p.48). Whilst I can see where these stereotypes come from, I believe that these exaggerated voices were created with good intentions. This is evident in the narrator’s fond description of ‘the town that has fallen head over bells in love’ (Thomas, 1954, p.49), which seems to reflect Thomas’ own love for the Welsh towns he grew up in. A critic who supports this is Walford Davies, who states that ‘the characters of the play for voices are necessarily to some degree caricatures.’ (Davies, 2014, p.130). This suggests that Thomas dramatizes characters deliberately in order to juxtapose them and keep the reader interested. A good example of this is the differences between Mrs Dai Bread One’s fractures speech- ‘capped and shawled (…) nice to be comfy, nice to be nice’, and Mrs Dai Bread Two’s long, romantic sentences – ‘see my body through my petticoat brown as a berry’ (Thomas, 1954, pp.23-24). These two vastly different voices are placed side by side to reveal Dai Bread’s adulterous lifestyle, and to highlight the conflict between chastity and sexuality prominent in Wales at the time. Critic Davies commends the play for ‘distilling a particular brand of Welsh gothic too often unrecognized’ (Davies, 2014, p.130) – the balance between dark and light. It is Thomas’ inclusion of themes such as Dai Bread’s adultery and the townspeople’s hidden sexual desires that balance out the text’s more whimsical parts, addressing some real issues in Welsh culture.

Calvino’s Cosmicomics is similar to Under Milk Wood in that there is a fine balance between comedy and darkness, a lot of which is centered around the portrayal of women. As mentioned in the textbook, ‘One constant which runs through all the stories is Qfwfq’s often comic commentary on the incongruities between the rules of theorems and the frustrated lover’s desire.’ (Gupta, 2016, p.78). Our attention is drawn to the various love triangles present throughout the collection. In a similar manner to the story of Dai Bread and his wives, ‘The aquatic uncle’ and ‘The form of space’ juxtapose two men fighting for a woman’s affections. For example, in ‘The Form of Space’, Qfwfq and Lieutenant Fenimore try to win over the attention of Ursula H’x, who shows no interest in either parties. Qfwfq comments – ‘the mere fact that Lieutenant Fenimore had got such ideas into his head – and tried to put them into the head of Ursula H’x - was enough to get on my nerves, even though she paid no attention to him.’ (Calvino, 1968, p.113). Not only does this paint the male characters in a negative light for presuming women will be interested in them, but it also opens up a discussion about the limited voice women have in this text. Characters such as Ayl, Ursula H’x and Mrs. Vhd-Vhd are there to act as the object of Qfwfq’s desires. Critic Kristi Sigel states that ‘when Qfwfq attempts to satisfy his desires by possessing Mrs Vhd-Vhd on the moon’ (Siegel, 1991, p.53), he realizes that he won’t be truly satisfied until he has let her go and returned to earth. Siegel then describes Mrs Vhd-Vhd as ‘the symbol for unattainable desire.’ (p.53). Whilst it may seem like Calvino’s female characters are there simply to be objectified, the fact that Qfwfq never gets a happy ending suggests that Calvino is trying to highlight the flaws in male behavior towards women.

The last thing I’d like to discuss is how these two texts fit into the category of postmodernism. Calvino’s The Cosmicomics is postmodern in its unusual form, which is referenced in the textbook as a short text deemed to be the most quintessential form of imaginative invention’, the opposite of the ‘grand narratives of modernity’’ (Gupta, 2016, p.60). Each story has a subject matter that is wrapped up within fifteen or so pages, often relating to ‘neo-realism’ – Calvino’s penchant for incorporating real-world debates about evolution into his stories. For example, ‘The Distance of the moon’ revolves around the scientific discovery that the moon used to be much closer to the earth. Qfwfq recalls, ‘climb up on the moon? Of course we did. All you had to do was row out to it in a boat (…), prop a ladder against her and scramble up.’ (Calvino, 1968, p.4). This greatly exaggerated story is what marries science and literature, creating a hybrid that is not factually correct but introduces the reader to the world of science. As mentioned previously in this essay, the other characters in the stories seem only to be present to bounce Qfwfq’s ideas off of, or to embody a certain part of the universe. There is very little dialogue in these stories other than Qfwfq’s monologues. In ‘The distance of the moon’, one of the few lines of dialogue is ‘and from their mouths and ours, at the same moment came a cry: “The Moon’s going away!” (p.13). This supports my argument perfectly; the supporting characters are generalized, and this piece of speech is only included to complete the plot of the moon moving further from the earth. One critic that discusses this idea of supporting characters is John Dolis – ‘characters range from atoms and cellular structures to mollusks and dinosaurs, each, in its way, “a particle of truth”’ (Dolis, 1998, p.1). The diverse range of characters in The Cosmicomics are representative of ideas rather than people. It could therefore be said that Calvino does not juxtapose voices, but rather uses a hierarchy of voices to support the main voice – Qfwfq.

Under Milk Wood is similar to The Cosmicomics in some of the themes it produces but is vastly different in terms of its form. Whilst Calvino’s stories lack dialogue, Milk Wood is overflowing with people and their conversations. In terms of postmodernism, it is important to remember that Milk Wood is a radio drama and is meant to be read aloud. One characteristic of postmodernism is the inclusion of a wide scope of voices as opposed to the typical middle-class narrator. A good example in the text is the implication of lower-class society. Mog Edwards dreams of taking Myfanwy to his ‘emporium on the hill, where the change hums on the wires.’ Myfanwy replies, ‘I will knit you a wallet of forget me not blues, for the money to be comfy.’ (Thomas, 1954, p.7). It is clear that nobody in this seaside town has a great deal of money. Mrs Dai Bread one also struggles to pay Mrs Dai Bread two to read her fortune – ‘Cross my palm with silver. Out of our housekeeping money. Aah!’ (p.40). In comparison with The Cosmicomics, it doesn’t seem like Thomas is trying to make a particular statement, or even place the voices in a hierarchy. The Reverend Jenkins even states that the people of Llareggub ‘are not wholly bad or good.’ (p.57), suggesting that the play really is about the characters, and isn’t trying to paint a bigger picture. The title itself even reflects how little actual happens in Llareggub – bugger all. Critic Walford Davies is once again useful here, ‘The historical otherness of radio really compensated Thomas’ dislike of larger dramatic structures. (…) Its power is lost in any stage production that is not minimalist.’ (Davies, 2014, p.145). This supports my point perfectly, proving that Thomas’ valued voice above all else.

To conclude my analysis, the main thing that brings these two books together is the fact that they are both undeniably postmodern. Both texts are ambitious considering their lengths and dare to include a variety of thoughts and voices that haven’t often been heard in literature before. Calvino does this via his use of voices to combine science and literature, and Thomas does this by using a whole town’s worth of voices to create a very inclusive description of Welsh culture. In terms of the question, it seems that Thomas juxtaposes his characters in order to entertain the reader, whereas the idea of an authoritative hierarchy is important in Calvino’s text, as it reminds the reader that Qfwfq is the protagonist. Whilst both texts are greatly dramatized and create caricatures of real people, they are reflective of the changing world and its globalization. The juxtaposition of different characters is what enables these authors to demonstrate this changing world, whether it be change in an evolutionary sense like in The Cosmicomics or change in the ethical sense like in Under Milk Wood.