Essay on The Flea by John Donne - 2357 Words

The Flea by John Donne â€Å"The Flea†, a witty poem of seduction and conceit, taken from John Donne’s â€Å"Songs and Sonets† is the poem that I have chosen to compare to â€Å"Song†, another poem of John Donne’s where he is passionately pleading with his wife not to be disheartened about his departure abroad. Both poems which belong to â€Å" Songs and Sonets†, written around the time of the 16th century, show that their title suggests they are both short poems, following the traditional form of a sonnet, consisting of fourteen lines. However, they are not â€Å"songs† in the conventional sense we think of and none of them are written as a sonnet. In fact, Donne’s poems were intended for circulation around his local pub, â€Å"Lincoln’s Inn†, where†¦show more content†¦He reveals an attitude that is persuasive, but manipulative by saying that since they are one in the flea, they should make love anyway, seeing as they are already joined. I question whether this is love, or lust? Donne presses on with his argument, he develops a series of persuasions to attempt his mistress into bed with him: â€Å" How little that thou deny’st me is.† Here, Donne is again being manipulative; he is scornful and is appealing to her to see how desperate he is for her to agree. By using a triple structure, he is appealing to her knowledge and is showing emphasis: â€Å" Thou know’st that this cannot be said A sinne, nor shame, nor loss of maiden head† Here Donne has asked his mistress not to kill the flea, cleverly revealing that it would be suicide since both her and Donne are joined as one in this flea. He uses a hyperbole, the deliberate exaggeration of saying this would be a murder, thus creates effect. He uses emotional blackmail and accusatory towards his mistress. However, the argument is turned around, when she retorts that neither of them are worse off in this act, to which he proceeds a mock concession, pretending to give into her point. The final few lines of the final stanza show a reversal. Donne agrees with his mistress’ argument, he can see how she would be right when she claims that killing a flea is so unimportant. However, thereShow MoreRelatedThe Flea By John Donne883 Words   |  4 PagesJohn Donne was a contemporary of Shakespeare. His writing career occurred during the Renaissance. Poems about seduction were common during this era. The Flea by John Donne was a poem about a man urging his love interest into a sexual union with him by way of reason. In this time, premarital sex was considered a great sin and could get someone in a lot of trouble. The flea in this poem was used as a symbol of love and romance. A flea was one of the things that would least likely be used to describeRead MoreThe Flea By John Donne997 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Flea†, by John Donne is a raunchy romantic poem that explains the speakers unyielding love that is represented by an insect. Using the insect to seduce his beloved after they both get bitten by the insect. As the speaker seduces his beloved, he involves her beliefs and values, intending to get his way with her no matter what it takes. But she doesn’t give in to his manipulation. As you read more deeply into the poem, we can also see the larger and symbolic meanings of this poem. For exampleRead MoreThe Flea By John Donne1558 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"The Flea† Essay â€Å"The Flea† by John Donne when looked at briefly is simply a poem about a man trying to seduce a woman into participating in pre-material sexual relationship with him. However, â€Å"The Flea† constructs many more important arguments than simply that one. The poem touches on religion, love, and sex in a non-romanticized way, contrasting the normal glamorized stance seen in most of poetry. Most of John Donne’s poems have either romantic themes or religious themes; â€Å"The Flea† has both. ItRead MoreThe Flea By John Donne1314 Words   |  6 Pagescliches about love such as, cheeks like roses or, hearts pierced by the arrows of love.. John Donne, a well known poet of that time period writes many poems about love, but none using all those tired, worn out cliches. Donne brings his poems to life using vivid imagery and elaborately sustained metaphors known as conceits. (The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. B 1260). In Donne s poem The Flea the reader gets to see more of a funny and amusing love poem, while his poem A Valediction:Read MoreThe Flea By John Donne Essay1497 Words   |  6 Pagesthe poem. The author John Donne has written many poems that could be interpreted in many ways, and are analyzed by many people in the United States and around the world. John Donne’s â€Å"The Flea†is a good example of a poem that can be analyzed for its physical and intellectual parts, and how they work together to make the poem what it is because it is descriptive, and can be interpreted in many ways. First, it is important to look at the physical parts of a poem. Donne’s â€Å"The Flea†is comprised of threeRead MoreThe Flea By John Donne1354 Words   |  6 Pagesmost notably that of intimacy. In John Donne’s poem â€Å"The Flea,† extended metaphor is used to explain that the act of intimacy does not matter whether it is performed before or after marriage. Also, explicit imagery is noticeable through the poem and outlines the underlying taboo topic being discussed. Another important detail, the flea within the poem is not only used as a comparison in the extended metaphor, but also as a symbol of innocence. In â€Å"The Flea,† Donne plainly spites the acceptance ofRead MoreThe Flea By John Donne Essay923 Words   |  4 Pagesimpression of â€Å"The Flea,† one does not expect an erotic love story. The title suggests a tiny insect may be the main focus of the poem, but this assumption proves to be incorrect. Using intense metaphors, ima gery, symbolism, and alliteration to perform his argument, the speaker is attempting to woo a lady in a rather repulsive romantic comedy approach. Throughout the couplets, the flea is personified and becomes symbolic of a much greater meaning. Although John Donne’s â€Å"The Flea† obviously discussesRead MoreThe Flea by John Donne Essay1059 Words   |  5 PagesThe Flea by John Donne In the poem The Flea, by John Donne, the speaker uses a peculiar analogy in order to persuade his beloved to engage in premarital intercourse with him. The poem is composed of three stanzas that tell a story in chronological order about a flea that has sucked the blood of the two subjects. It tells the reader how the speaker attempts to persuade his beloved not to kill the flea because it is their marriage bed and then tells of how the womanRead MoreThe Flea By John Donne And Easter Wings1412 Words   |  6 PagesIn the poems, â€Å"The Flea† by John Donne and â€Å"Easter Wings† by George Herbert use the literary device of a metaphor to convey the meaning of the poems. The use of metaphor by these two authors are essential to the themes of the poems. Metaphors are used to compare two different subjects to explain the poem. The metaphors in these poems draw from the central themes to help the reader understand the deeper meaning of the poem. â€Å"The Flea† uses the metaphor of the flea to explain the relationship of theRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Flea By John Donne1033 Words   |  5 Pagesnoticeable influence. For example, in the poem, â€Å"The Flea†, by John Donne, initially it referred to a flea biting the speaker but as the reader proceeds further the perspective changes from this flea into the larger picture, which is a humorous little debate whether the speaker and his beloved will partake in premarital sex or not. Donne chose to word the poem in a format very similar to Frost’s definition of poetry. Donne begins using the flea as an analogy and this translates into the persuasive