a comparative analysis of louis durey and francis poulenc's settings ...

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d. Le dauphin
Dolphins, you play in the sea,
But the waves are always bitter.
Do I sometimes laugh with joy
Life is still cruel.
The dolphin, the nineteenth creature in the procession, is the first of the sea
dwellers. As the poem reinforces, the dolphin is a symbol of naivety and joy. Ernst
Lehner notes that the dolphin “was considered a kindly sea monster in antiquity, servant
of the gods and helper to man.” 50 In Greek mythology, Apollo cherished the dolphin—
he and other gods rode dolphins on the waves of the sea.
Specific to this poem, the dolphin plays in the sea despite its bitterness. The poet
draws a parallel between the life of the dolphin and his own life. Although enduring a
cruel existence, the poet still finds reasons to laugh with joy, as the dolphin plays in the
sea despite its treacherous waves. Wilfred Mellers draws a comparison between the
dolphin and Don Pedro (of “Le dromadaire”) in that they are both adventurers through
“uncharted territories.” 51 The poet, once again, admires the adventurous quality of the
creature and, in a way, lives vicariously through the dolphin’s joyful frolicking through
the bitter sea.
The dolphin woodcut portrays the dolphin in its natural element—the ocean.
There is a steamship in the background, with smoke billowing out from its funnel. The
“bitter waves” are portrayed in a choppy manner, surrounding the boat and the dolphin.
The bow wave in front of the dolphin indicates that the dolphin is moving forward, which
50
Ernst and Johanna Lehner, A Fantastic Bestiary: Beasts and Monsters in Myth and Folklore (New York:
Tudor, 1969), 137.
51 Mellers, Francis Poulenc, 4.