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 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. 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.