Dolphin by Robert Lowell: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem Dolphin that begins with:

My Dolphin, you only guide me by surprise,
a captive as Racine, the man of craft,...

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: aXbXcaXcadadbX X
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 14,1,
  • Closest metre: trochaic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: rondeau
  • Metre: 11011011101 0101010101 11010101010 1001000100101 1111001111110 1001010101 01010110010 1111100110 100010101 11001110011 1010100010 1010100011 0101001110 11011110110 11111110
  • Amount of stanzas: 2
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 311
  • Average number of words per stanza: 57
  • Amount of lines: 15
  • Average number of symbols per line: 41 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; of is repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word not is repeated.

    The author used the same word my at the beginnings of some neighboring stanzas. The figure of speech is a kind of anaphora.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of Dolphin;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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