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  1. The poem's central idea is nostalgia and how it might influence our lives. Duffy puts out the notion that nostalgia, which may have a significant influence on our feelings and memories, can be both beneficial and unpleasant. The poem makes the point that nostalgia is a difficult and sometimes contraRead more

    The poem’s central idea is nostalgia and how it might influence our lives. Duffy puts out the notion that nostalgia, which may have a significant influence on our feelings and memories, can be both beneficial and unpleasant. The poem makes the point that nostalgia is a difficult and sometimes contradictory feeling since it may be both reassuring and sad at the same time.

    Nostalgia Summary

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  1. Imagery: The use of vivid and descriptive language to create mental pictures and sensory impressions. For example, "a photograph torn in half / two halves of a black and white / kiss" creates a vivid image of a torn photograph. Metaphor: The comparison of one thing to another to highlight similaritiRead more

    1. Imagery: The use of vivid and descriptive language to create mental pictures and sensory impressions. For example, “a photograph torn in half / two halves of a black and white / kiss” creates a vivid image of a torn photograph.
    2. Metaphor: The comparison of one thing to another to highlight similarities and differences. For example, “nostalgia, which bathes the past / in a rosy, sunset glow” uses the metaphor of bathing to describe the way nostalgia colors our memories.
    3. Repetition: The repetition of words, phrases, or sounds for emphasis and to create a sense of rhythm. For example, “I remember, I remember” is repeated several times throughout the poem to create a sense of nostalgia and longing.
    4. Personification: The attribution of human qualities to nonhuman things. For example, “nostalgia, who lives in the back of my head” personifies nostalgia as a living entity.
    5. Alliteration: The repetition of the same sound or letter at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. For example, “moons, marble, mirrors” uses alliteration to create a sense of musicality and rhythm.
    6. Enjambment: The continuation of a sentence or phrase over a line break, without a pause. For example, “nostalgia, who lives in the back of my head / like a lodger, has paid rent / for years” uses enjambment to create a flowing, continuous rhythm.
    7. Irony: The use of words to convey a meaning that is opposite to their literal meaning. For example, “nostalgia, which tingles / like sherbet in the tongue” uses irony to convey the bittersweet nature of nostalgia.

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    In the poem, told from the point of view of a dolphin, we come to know how dolphins have been trapped by human for their greed. The dolphins are taken away from their natural habitat and forced to live a miserable life in a man-made pool. Though the dolphins are in their element, water, they are notRead more

    In the poem, told from the point of view of a dolphin, we come to know how dolphins have been trapped by human for their greed. The dolphins are taken away from their natural habitat and forced to live a miserable life in a man-made pool. Though the dolphins are in their element, water, they are not free to form their own thoughts. “There is a man and there are hoops.” The dolphins are forced into enslavement to perform tricks for humans; “there is a colored ball/ we have to balance till the man has disappeared.” Such cruelty is shown towards the dolphins in the poem.

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    The poem, told from the perspective of an incarcerated dolphin, expresses the pain and danger of being a captive forced into enslavement. The dolphins are captured by the humans and are kept in a confined environment, where they have to perform tricks to satisfy the human greed. They are lamenting tRead more

    The poem, told from the perspective of an incarcerated dolphin, expresses the pain and danger of being a captive forced into enslavement. The dolphins are captured by the humans and are kept in a confined environment, where they have to perform tricks to satisfy the human greed. They are lamenting their loss of freedom and are indignant at the fact that they have to perform mere tricks for the humans. The dolphins, animals of nature, are forced to obey the commands of the man and are being held against their free will.

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    The ‘single note’ in the poem symbolizes the sadness and grief of the dolphins. They move around the limited space given to them, on the orders of a whistle, depicting “music of loss forever.” Read summary of The Dolphins Poem

    The ‘single note’ in the poem symbolizes the sadness and grief of the dolphins. They move around the limited space given to them, on the orders of a whistle, depicting “music of loss forever.”

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  1. Carol Ann Duffy’s “The Dolphins” is a typical modern poem as it does not convey any particular message but a hidden one for the readers to decipher. The poem also just doesn’t personify the dolphins but anthropomorphize them to narrate their miserable plight. We are forced to look at the world throuRead more

    Carol Ann Duffy’s “The Dolphins” is a typical modern poem as it does not convey any particular message but a hidden one for the readers to decipher. The poem also just doesn’t personify the dolphins but anthropomorphize them to narrate their miserable plight. We are forced to look at the world through the trapped dolphins perspective.

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    The speaker of the poem is in an unhappy and dejected mood. The Dolphins have been taken away from their natural habitat and are now trapped in a man-made pool. The Dolphins are miserable and they seem to be protesting against the forced captivity. Read summary of The Dolphins Poem

    The speaker of the poem is in an unhappy and dejected mood. The Dolphins have been taken away from their natural habitat and are now trapped in a man-made pool. The Dolphins are miserable and they seem to be protesting against the forced captivity.

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  1. The poem, “The Dolphins”, written by Carol Ann Duffy is a dramatic monologue mirroring the woes of the Dolphins trapped in a pool. The poem of protest reflects the inner conflicts of the Dolphins by showing from their perspective. Read summary of The Dolphins Poem

    The poem, “The Dolphins”, written by Carol Ann Duffy is a dramatic monologue mirroring the woes of the Dolphins trapped in a pool. The poem of protest reflects the inner conflicts of the Dolphins by showing from their perspective.

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    Following literary devices have been used in the poem, “The Dolphins”:- 1. Alliteration:- it is the lyrical musicality of the poem since it refers to the repetition of  a speech sound in a sequence of nearby words. Over here it occurs when the poet says “silver skin” or “deepen to dream.” 2. AnthropRead more

    Following literary devices have been used in the poem, “The Dolphins”:-

    1. Alliteration:- it is the lyrical musicality of the poem since it refers to the repetition of  a speech sound in a sequence of nearby words. Over here it occurs when the poet says “silver skin” or “deepen to dream.”

    2. Anthropomorphism:- it assigns human characteristics to non-human entities like animals or non-inanimate objects. The poet here narrates the poem from the perspective of the Dolphins making them sound capable of thoughts and actions just like humans.

    3. Simile:- it an elaborate comparison is made between two distinctly different things, and it is explicitly indicated by the word ‘like’ or ‘as.’ Over here the simile is used when the speaker says, “we see our silver skin flash by like memory of somewhere else.”

    4. Metaphor:- it refers to any word or expression that in literal usage denotes one kind of thing is applied to a distinctly different kind of thing without asserting a comparison. It is used in the poem when the speaker describes the guilt of the humans by saying, “constant flowing guilt.”

    5. Assonance:- it is the repetition of identical or similar vowels in a sequence of nearby words as seen in the poem, “World is what you swiin, or dance, it is simple.”

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