thoughts are similar. Outside the pool is a man (our trainer) and there are hoops (which we have to cross) And there is a constant flow of guilt (water) in the pool. Stanza 2 the man In the new world (these waters) we have found no truth. We have failed to find any reason of our being here (in an artificial habitat). The only thing that we can understand is that once we were blessed (when we were in our natural habitat) and that now we are no more blessed. We have very limited space to move about. We have to travel the same space again and again and we always find the man ‘above’ us - the man who controls us Stanza 3 ‘And now We wun has disappeared.’ We are no more blessed as the new, artificial world is quite shallow for us to dream in as we used to dream earlier in our natural habitat (ocean). The other dolphin shares my feelings. We recall how our bodies would receive a silvery appearance in the moonlight in the sea. That is now a thing of the past, In our new world there is no moon but a colour ball which we balance till our controller (the man) is not gone. Stanza 4 ‘We have... ‘The moon has die here.’ The moon has disappeared. We circle the same limited space again and again. The routine is boring and there is no real music. This has turned my heart to stone, What we see is not the moon but the plastic ball to play with. There is no hope of any escape. We go down the depths of the pool and remain there until the whistle blows to call us out. There is a man who controls our life. We know well that we are fated to die here. "5. GLOSSARY Stanza 1 world : (here) a pool of water that is the dolphins’ new world now our element + water this world : the world of pool in the water park breathe ive hoops : large rings for dolphins to jump through Gs) flowing guilt (here) a metaphor for water pumped into the p . 001 Stanza 2 tremble on our flesh : no sensation is recorded by our sensitive bodies blessed : cheerful, contented such space limited space of the pool Stanza 3 “the world + attifcial world of the poo), dream in’ unfit fr freedom and dreaming the other : the other dolphin in the poo, ‘silver skin flash’: the body looks silvery in the sunlit sea somewhere else: metaphor for the ocean coloured ball : the ball for the dolphins to play with ‘man has : reveals man’s utter control disappeared’ Stanza 4 well-worn circling repeatedly in the pool grooves of water _ water, becoming boring the plastic toy : the coloured ball in the pool no hope 2 suggestive of bleak future “the whistle blows’: suggestive of human control over the dolphins 6. THEME Exploitation and Abuse of Wildlife : “The Dolphins’ underlines the idea that man in his avarice or pride fails to realize how animals are badly affected when they are constrained or imprisoned. Animals suffer as much from the loss of freedom as man. Confined in the limited space of a water pool ina water park the speaker-dolphin expresses its sense of loss of freedom vividly. We are moved by the way it seems to ask what for it has been removed from its natural habitat, We begin to share its feelings, though we can never exactly know the anguish of an entrapped or encaged animal. The dolphin in the poem, representing all dolphins in its position, it clear that they long for freedom : World is what you swim in, or dance, itis simple: We are in our element but we are not free.ye dolphin, in a hopeless mood, mentions of inspite. It knows that dolphins like it have bleak s mercy. They will continue to yn They are at mar their imited space and entertain the human ve and one day they will die: fe ere isa plastic toy. There is no hope, We sink to the limits of this pool until the whistle blows There is a man and our mind knows we will die : Another theme of ‘The Dolphins’ pe contrast between man-made world and the world ralure. The man-made world can only be artificial, ited and joyless. On the other hand, the world of Jace is real, joyful and limitless. Animals are meant jive in the world of nature. They live there happily. fen they are removed from their natural habitats, remain unhappy and yearn for their freedom. This ow the captive dolphin expresses its anguish in its ‘man-made world. Wewere blessed and now we are not blessed. Adolphin is known to receive a lot of information tough its skin. It has a highly developed sonar. And Hin the new man-made world it is unable to make ay sense of its existence. There is no explanation as why itis there, It does not find any truth in the new The only thing the dolphins can understand is ‘once they were blessed and that now they are not | The limited space in the pool which they have A metaphor is a sort of comparison. It shows how {s identified with another in respect of some iy or characteristic, ‘These metaphors occur in the /* “constant flowi I’ ata the tank, or for the Sensitivity on the part of the dokphins who are Aware of abuse. metaphor to show ack the interest of the open sea; it is simply boring, the truth of which is being kept from the dolphins. Simile Ina simile one thing is compared to another by using either ‘like’ or ‘as...as” ; a5 We see our silver skin flash by like memory of somewhere else. ‘The memory of the dolphins having silvery skin is as momentary as that of the open ocean of their days of freedom. Caesura When there is a decisive pause in one single line of the poem it is known as caesura. Caesura has been used liberally by the poet in ‘The Dolphins’ to convey the pathos of the situation effectively; as, © The other has my shape. The other's movement forms my thoughts. And also mine. There is a man The moon has disappeared. We circle well-worn grooves of water on a single note. Assonance : It is the repetition of identical or similar vowels in a sequence of nearby words; as : © World is what you swim in, or dance, simple. (short ‘’) to translate. It was the same space. It is (long ‘a’) Poem of Contemporary Value : ‘The Dolphins’ is a poem of protest against the abuse of wildlife. The concem for the wildlife and the conservation of species are serious issues of our times. “The Dolphins’ is one among many poems that draws our attention that we need to change our mindset, We should not imprison animals in 200s, parks and aquariums. The poet voices its concern about the loss of freedom for animals like dolphins quite effectively in “The Dolphins’. She gives her voice to one of the captive dolphins in a water pool ina water park, ‘The plight of the dolphin in the limited space in the pool, its sense of loss of freedom and its feelings of clesperation, ennui and hopelessness make the readers aware of the human apathy towards wildlife, Gx)and about the need to take essential steps to prevent cruelty towards animals. Message : The poem does not aim at giving any direct message to the readers. It only records the experience of the dolphins in an artificial atmosphere where they are forced to do some tricks for human entertainment under the threatening presence of their keeper. If there is any message, it is for us to derive. We are exhorted implicitly to do something against the needless confinement of innocent creatures. Let us allow animals to enjoy their freedom in their natural environs. Title : The title of the poem ‘The Dolphins’ is quite appropriate. The whole poem is about the dolphins entrapped in a pool of a water park. It is written from the perspective of a dolphin who becomes a spokesperson for its kind in voicing its anguish over the loss of its freedom. On the larger scale, her voice is the voice of all such animals and birds entrapped by man for entertainment purpose. Throughout the poem, the focus is on the dolphins’ plight and the hopelessness of their situation. Typical Modern Poem : The poem, written in colloquial style, seems to be simple. But a close reading of the poem shows that some of its lines are quite ambiguous. Like any modern poem, this poem is also open to many interpretations. For instance, the line — ‘There is a constant flowing guilt’ — is quite ambiguous. Who is guilty, the dolphins or the humans ? The dolphins have no reason to feel guilty, while the humans have the reason to feel so, but ironically they do not. There is ambiguity in these lines, too, The other has my shape. The other's movement forms niy thoughts, And also mine. At first, itis not clear who or what is meant by ‘The other’. We can only guess that the ‘other’ refers to another dolphin in the pool. (a) In what sense is the poem ‘The Dolphins’ a protest against man’s attitude towards animals in general ? Quote from the text to substantiate your answer. Ans. Man's attitude towards animals is generally _ indifferent and cruel, In his sense of (b) Ans, superiority he has been using, imprisoniny | hurting and even killing animals for j¢ | needs, greed and entertainment. He for, that animals too deserve to be treated wit, compassion and loving care. The poem ‘The Dolphins’ by Carol Any Duffy underlines this human attitude towards dolphins, representative of 3 animals in their miserable condition. It gives voice to one of the two imprisoned dolphing in a water pool in a water park where it is used for dolphin shows for the entertainment of the visitors. Confined in the limited space of water pool in ‘a water park the speaker-dolphin expresses its sense of loss of freedom vividly. We are moved by the way it seems to ask what for it has been removed from its natural habitat We begin to share its feelings, though we can never exactly know the anguish of an entrapped or encaged animal. The dolphin in the poem, representing all dolphins in its position, makes it clear that they long for freedom : World is what you swim in, or dance, its simple. We are in our element but we are not free. The dolphin, in a hopeless mood, mentions of man in spite. It knows that dolphins like it have bleak future. They are at man’s mercy. They will continue to move in their limited space and entertain the human visitors, and one day they will die: There is a plastic toy. There is no hope. We sink to the limits of this pool until the whistle blows. There is a man and our mind knows we will die here, What tells you that the dolphins in the winter park are unhappy ? In the very opening stanza of the poem We Jearn that dolphins - probably two in numbet in the pool - are quite unhappy. They af unhappy due to several factors, First of all, they are isolated from their ilk. They can no longer enjoy the company af othet dolphins as they used to do, Secondly, the dolphins have been dislocated. They have been removed from their natural habitat the sea, to the confined space of a pool. This forced isolation and dislocation are enous! EE |to make them sad and unhappy. The loss of freedom weighs heavily on their hearts. They are totally helpless and desolate. In their cramped world they fail to decipher why they have been confined there. There is a boring, limited space to move about. There js no music except that of the whistle blown by their trainer or upkeeper. The dolphins are hopeless and know they have only bleak future before them. There is a man and our mind knows we will die here. Is there any message which Carol Ann Duffy wants to convey through her poem _ ‘The Dolphins’ ? Discuss. ‘The Dolphins’ is a modern poem. It only aims at recording the feelings of the entrapped dolphins in a pool in a water park to stage ‘dolphin shows’ for the entertainment of visitors. Like any other _ modern poet, it does not convey any message explicitly. If there is any message, it is for us to derive. We are implicitly exhorted to give up our apathetic attitude towards animals in general. We should not imprison animals in zoos, acquariums and theme parks. We should allow animals to enjoy their freedom in their natural environs. The feelings assigned to ‘the captive dolphin in the water park evoke There is no hope. We sink to the limits of this pool until the whistle blows. ‘There is a man and our mind knows we will die