Movement Background: Confessional poetry emerged in the late 1950's and the early 1960's. The type of poetry deals with a persons personal account of a traumatic experience. Though it deals with emotions, creativity and construction is still very important.
Poetry Analysis: The Dolphin by Lowell begins to illustrate his life going out of control. He wrote this poem because readers can actually relate to what he talks about. When the author states, "When I was troubled in mind, you made for my body........to line 7." Lowell explains how his mind was troubled and how his body is being strangled because when you mention a hangman's-knot the illustration of one's that's hang itself. Maybe his body and mind is this way because of all the drinking he did. Then when the author states, "I have sat and listened to too many words of the collaborating muse." He tells how he listened to many people for advice but how now he starts to regrets it now. The rest of the poem the author talks about him being reckless and careless and having since of helplessness as he ends the poem with "my eyes have seen what my hand did." The line is important because he starts to reflect back on his life and discovers what he did wrong. He uses the phrase "sinking line" which refers to something that is heavier than water. This shows his life might have been sinking but someone was there to hold him up when it was heavier than water.
Literary Devices: In the poem there are several literary devices that are utilized in the poem. The first device I'm going to discuss is the repetition in the when the writer states, ""..not avoiding injury to others, not avoiding injury to myself.." The author uses repetition emphasize his personal feelings of his unpreventable destructive nature. When he states, "my dolphin." The author uses The Dolphin as a metaphor for what steers him in.