ANH NGUYENREMAN SHERGILL

JUAN MACIASKATELYN NGUYEN

The Flea by John DonnePoem Analysis

About the Author

John Donne was born between 24 January and 19 June 1573 and died 31 March in 1631 due to stomach cancer (age 59)London, England

Occupations: Priest, lawyer, and poet Since his life was always changing, it reflected on his writing In 1602 he was elected as a member of parliament Married to Anne More just before Christmas in 1601 in a

prison cell The marriage ruined his career and earned him a short stay in

a prison His wife died on 15 August 1617, five days after giving birth to

their twelfth child When Donne wrote “The Flea” he was already married to Anna

which had significant influence in the writing of this poem

Structure

Broken into three stanzas1 iambic tetrameter and 2 iambic

pentametersRhyme Scheme: AA BB CC DDDEach stanza is a x-lined stanzaThe whole poem is a conceit

Summary

Stanza 1The speaker tries to convince the woman not to

kill the flea but rather bite her so their blood with fuse

The speaker gets aroused at the thought of both their blood mixing inside the flea

His argument, then, is that because the flea's meal is not shameful, sex with him must not be shameful either

The speaker complains that the bug gets to enjoy her flesh without wooing her

Summary Cont.

Stanza 2The speaker begs her to hold off. In a desperate

effort he says it represents our marriageThe speaker says the flea contains three lives

his, hers and the flea’sThe speakers states that her parents have a bad

feeling about their union and that the jet black body of the flea acts as a cloister (church)

But he says if she kills the flea she will be committing three separate sins: Murder, suicide, and sacrilege

Summary Cont.

Stanza 3She killed the bug, but all that happened is that she

stained her fingernail with the “purple” blood.He asks how the flea could have been guilty of anything

except taking some of her bloodThe woman has beaten the flea she has also triumphed

over the speaker's argument He admits that arguments has fallen apart He will now prove that her earlier fears have been

unfounded.When she resists his seduction she loses the same amount

of honor that she lost when she killed the fleaThe poem ends before she can even respond

Tone and Diction

Donne’s use of diction creates a persuasive tone throughout the poem

Ex. “…it sucks me first and now sucks thee” Donne uses words like spare, kill, self-

murder sacrilege, three sins and killingThe speaker tries to make the woman feel

guilty of a violation for not being intimate with him

Analysis

Throughout the poem the speaker changes his approach towards the woman to benefit himself

“The Flea” is a metaphysical poem so it contains wild shifts in the imaginative setting of the poem

Marriage is the major theme in the poem because it affects the woman choice and reflects Donne’s life

Guilt was the reason the killing of the flea was prolonged and affected the decision of whether to sleep with him or not

The End

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