“Music of loss forever from the other’s heart which turns my own to stone.

There is a plastic toy. There is no hope.’’

On perception of the poem ‘The Dolphins’ is no doubt a metaphorical poem, in the twenty first century. Human selfishly concentrate on their own lives and consider their likes and dislikes. The poet here wishes the reader to recall the pain and suffering of the trapped animals, the ill-effects it has on the imprisoned animals which are forced to live against their liking. Man makes unfair use of them; utilize them for human gain and personal pleasure. This is proof of man’s selfishness, his greed.

“We were blessed and now we are not blessed /After travelling such space for days we began/to translate. It was the same space. It is the same space always and above it is the man.”

This slowly gives them a feeling of their doom as they know that they will never live a normal life again. This isolation from their fellows will gradually lead them to death. Man ought to realize the need to let animals live freely in their own natural habitat, where they shall be happy and live with satisfaction. Challenging the dictates of Nature has its own repercussions. 

“And now we are no longer blessed, for the world/will not deepen to dream in.”

Through the voice of the dolphin the poet reminds the reader about the various animals that are entrapped and encaged by man, for his amusement.  The poet here has chosen to aim at species as a means of torturing certain animals as man considers himself as best living species and feels that he can choose to do whatever he feels like, as he is privileged.  He has appealed to man to allow animals to enjoy their natural rights, live in their original habitats and treat them as they should.

“The moon has disappeared. We circle well-worn grooves/ of water on a single note/Music of loss forever/from the other’s heart which turns my own to stone.”

It is not right to deny one’s right, as he would not prefer to live a life of imprisonment. Thus, he has tried to caution man that as they are lower animals and do not possess the same potential; man has reduced them today to the slaves. They are nothing but a plaything in his hands; compelled to do whatever he wants them to do. Just because they cannot voice their displeasure, man forces them to fulfill his desires.

“We sink to the limits of this pool until the whistle blows. There is a man and our mind knows we will die here.’’

So, Carol Duffy has very skillfully through the poem The Dolphins placed her question to the reader in a very intelligent manner to make man to rethink whether his cruel treatment towards animals is justified, whether man himself would ever surrender to such confinement, would be happy to live such a life of monotony? This man-made world can never provide them either peace or happiness. It makes life bitter and every moment he is reminded of the agony of his imminent death.

“There is a man and our mind know we will die here.”

Here it is seen that he has imprisoned the dolphins in an artificial environment, leaving their ‘natural world’ are removed from sea and compelled to live in a small pool. The difference between the two worlds, the freedom they enjoyed earlier and the despair that they now suffer because of the loss of their freedom, forcefully having to stay away, being deprived of their natural habitat is untold misery. The sad state of the dolphins urges man to realize that he should not treat the animals cruelly; neither should man exploit the animals for his own benefit.

‘’The moon has disappeared. We circle well-worn grooves of water on a single note. Music of loss forever from the other’s heart which turns my own to stone.’’

The poet has raised her protest through the poem to make man aware of the wrong being done to the helpless creatures, so that more and more people come forward to stop this. The poem is an indirect message to man, the readers of today.

“After travelling such space for days we began to translate. It was the same space. It is the space always and above it is the man.”

The poem has been written in simple language in the voice of a dolphin in the first person after the third line. It has been presented in the form of monologue of a trapped dolphin kept in a water park along with some of its species; it relates the helpless state.  Like a modern poem, she has not made use of any rhyme scheme; her use of punctuation is striking. The frequent use of short, emphatic sentences analyse the constructed attitude of the dolphins. The dolphin is a friendly creature. The two entrapped dolphins are kept in a pool, and made to play with a colored ball. It is a plastic toy that they have to balance to entertain man. There is a man who compels them to do it:  Dolphins are sensitive animals. The words- “and above it is the man’’ is proof of man’s superiority and his role in the abduction of the dolphins.

“We have found no truth in these waters, no explanations tremble on our flesh.’’

Man is too proud of him and thinks of himself as the master of the earth. His unending desire is to establish his control on everything in life specially the animal world. 

“….our mind knows we will die here’’.

Each living being has been created by God and has the liberty to live and enjoy its own habitat. The poem is a reminder to man to be realized and man needs to restrain himself; and the time has come when he needs to stop using animals to fulfill his unreasonable desires. It is time he learnt to question himself, whether he has the right to use an animal for his fancy.

 “The other has my shape. The other’s movement forms my thoughts. And also mine. There is a man and there are hoops. There is a constant flowing guilt.’’