"The Dolphins" is a protest against

abuse of animals and destruction of

nature. Elaborate. | Englicist

In her dramatic monologue ‘The Dolphins”, Carol Ann Duffy

has presented herself as an animal-lover and protested
against the exploits of animals and other natural elements by
man. Though the poem only speaks of the deplorable
condition of the dolphins who are forced to live in a pool to
perform tricks in circus, the theme actually goes beyond this.
In a broader view, the dolphins are mere representatives of all
such creatures receiving ill-treatments in the hands of man.

The poet here expresses the sadness in the dolphins’ mind

through their own voice using the technique of dramatic
monologue. The dolphin says that they are in their ‘element’ to
mean they are still living in water, but they are kept away from
their natural habitat, i.e., the ocean. They are not free.
Freedom is what the dolphin finds most important
(https://englicist.com/questions/role-of-dolphins-captivity) to
be happy. They are not ‘blessed’ anymore as their movements
are restricted in a pool and are guided by a man. They cannot
even move according to their will; they have to perform tricks
as the man wishes in order to entertain people. So, the
dolphins are now used for the monetary purpose of humans.
They have to balance themselves on a coloured ball. The
dolphin regrets repeatedly:

We were blessed and now we are not blessed.

The dolphin is sad as it is living a monotonous life in the

same space. It is in sharp contrast to what the life was like
when they were in the sea. The space is limited. A man is
there constantly above them guiding their movements and
making them feel guilty
(https://englicist.com/questions/explain-constant-flowing-
guilt-dolphins). The moon has disappeared for them, not only
literally but also metaphorically. They can no longer see the
moon as they are not in the open sea, and the cheerfulness of
their free life has now turned gloomy.

The dolphin remembers its happy days of the past. It finds its
own reflection in the other dolphin’s actions. Its heart turns to
stone when it hears the “music of loss” from the other
dolphin.

… Music of loss forever

from the other’s heart which turns my own to stone.

So, there is a sense of loss and there is hopelessness. The

only thing they have got to entertain themselves is a plastic
toy. That is not the ideal thing they used to use living in the
open ocean. The man’s whistle makes them sink to the limit of
the pool. There is a tone of suppression. Humans are toying
with the innocent animals’ lives. The very last line has a
sarcastic tone:

There is a man and our mind knows we will die here.

It is as if where there is a man, there is impurity, there is

distortion, artificiality and destruction of everything natural. In
fact, the existence of a man above them has been repeated in
every stanza of the poem to highlight the authority of man not
only over the dolphins but also over nature and most other
natural creatures. The way man is expanding their reach in
this universe and trying to use natural elements in their way,
they may eventually end up making a mess with the balance
of this universe and its natural aspects. We are slowly but
surely destructing nature and its purity.
The poet here raises her voice against this destruction
through human cruelty towards animals. The dolphin acts as
the poet’s voice to convey her message towards the readers
that we should respect the rights of animals to live in their
natural habitat and should not inflict our cruelty on them.

Rono Roy (https://englicist.com/questions/dolphins-protest-against-

destruction-nature) answered 3 years ago
People often fail to understand that the relative brain of a
dolphin is only second to that of a modern human being. They
live in large complex social groups and swim vast distances in
open ocean. But while in captivity they can only swim in
circles in tanks and are denied to stay in natural habitat and
are forced to perform meaningless tricks and are often taken
away from their family.

It is just like a man in a prison blindfolded, the dolphins feel

the same way. Accounting to all the years many of the
dolphins died while in captivity in touch tanks. By this poem
the poetess wants to show us the torture the animals receive
in the hands of the people. The poetess expects us to see the
world from their perspective too and to protect the life of the
innocent animals and demands to stop the exploitation of
wildlife in the name of self-entertainment. Most of the
countries have already banned the dolphin captivity.