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The Flea

            
             The Flea by John Donne is a poem of sadistic seduction. The poem has many metaphors that are woven into each verse to represent much deeper meanings. These metaphors also show the poet's plan of seduction that he delivers to his lady of honor. At first, it appears to be a love poem from a man to his lady who will not give in to his lustful desires. The speaker is actually arguing a point to his lady; she will not lose her honor if she gives in to his sexual desires. .
             The speaker starts off by condemning the act of sexual intercourse. He says that the act is of little importance because they are already joined by blood within the flea that has bitten each of them. So, if they are joined within this flea, the act itself cannot hold a great amount of importance. This mixing of bloods upsets the lady and she then smashes the flea. The speaker then claims that she has cast away her innocence by killing the flea. So now, she can not lose her innocence by giving in to him, because she has already lost it when she smashed the flea. She did not lose her honor, only her innocence, so therefore, giving him into to him would not constitute losing her honor.
             There are many symbols within the play that portray deeper meanings. There is a reference to the lady having a stature of royalty when she "purpled" her nail in the "blood of innocence" (945) in line 20. The description of the swelling of the insect with "one blood made of two" (945) in line 8 is a suggestive of surrogate pregnancy. This reference to a perversion of motherhood is a very disgusting one, which makes it natural for the lady to kill the flea. Also, the word "suck" (945) is used many times throughout the play, which suggests lust or passion which leads to the loss of innocence. The man admits that the flea did suck him first (his loss of innocence), but he is still honorable. So therefore, he displays another reason why it is okay for her to give in to him.


Essays Related to The Flea

1. The Flea

John Donne uses a flea, blood, and the murder of the flea as cunning metaphors for the most established ancient ritual, intercourse. ... As the speaker's lady attempts to kill the flea, he stops her, asking to show mercy for inside the flea there are three lives: his own, his lady's and the flea's. To kill the flea would not only end the flea's live but would also be impertinent "three sins in killing three." ... The speaker has been pleading for the flea's life explaining that the flea is symbolic to their marriage because of their union with inside of the flea. .....

  • Word Count: 1307
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

2. The Flea

The Flea by John Donne The Flea by John Donne is a poem of sadistic seduction. ... This mixing of bloods upsets the lady and she then smashes the flea. ... He says that by killing the flea, she has killed them both since their blood was within the flea. ... Even though the flea sucked him, he still has his honor. ... The flea is even referred to as their world. ...

  • Word Count: 865
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

3. The Flea

God's Gifts Analysis of the poem The Flea John Donne, a poet of the renaissance has produced many lusty and sexual poems. One of his many poems is called "The Flea" which introduces a character whose main goal is to bed his mistress. ... As the speaker remarks on the flea, he explains that the flea, who has bitten them both "swells with one blood made of two" (7-9). ... The speaker is trying to convince the mistress that if a flea is allowed to enjoy her, then there is no fear in allowing him to enjoy her too, because he wooed her longer than the flea. ... When the mistress kills the...

  • Word Count: 1163
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

4. The Flea

In the poem, The Flea, John Donne demonstrates grief, shame, anxiety and pain with the touch of his pen. ... The poem begins with: "Mark but this flea, and Mark in this How little that which thou deny'st me is; It sucked me first, and Now sucked thee, And in this flea our two bloods mingled be; Thou know'st that this cannot be said A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead." ... "Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare, Where we almost, yea more than, married are. ... "Wherein could this flea guilty be," what he is saying is, the by squashing what could be the beginning of a new lif...

  • Word Count: 1017
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Donne's "Flea"

Wit and Religious Imagery in "The Flea" In his funny little poem "The Flea," John Donne merges wit with religious imagery in an attempt to convince a woman to sleep with him. In the first stanza Donne cleverly uses the humorous image of an insignificant flea that has just sucked the blood of both Donne and his intended lover as he tries to convince his beloved that the mingling of bodily fluids during intercourse would be just as innocent as their blood mingling inside the body of the flea. ... In the second stanza Donne supports his argument and attempts to stop his beloved from killing t...

  • Word Count: 486
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. Dunne's Flea

The suitor in "The Flea" argues that his girlfriend should stop being a prude. ... He asks his mistress to notice only "this flea." ... He explains that the flea has bitten them both. ... Secondly, since her own blood is mixed with the flea's, shedding the flea's blood would be comparable to suicide. Thirdly, the flea is the institution in which their "wedding" took place. ...

  • Word Count: 363
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

7. John Donne's "The Flea"

The flea has sucked the blood of both the narrator and his girlfriend and now "in this flea, [their] two bloods mingled be." ... Metaphorically, the flea represents the "marriage bed, and marriage temple;" thus the flea embodies even more religious significance because it is where they were united for the first time into one entity. The girlfriend is still not persuaded and is about to kill the flea when the narrator presents one last argument as to why the flea should be spared. ... Since both his blood and the blood of his girlfriend are in the flea, he compares killing the flea to both h...

  • Word Count: 780
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Parasites And Pick-Up Lines; Sophistry In John Donnes "The Flea"

Parasites and Pick-Up Lines; Sophistry in John Donnes' "The Flea- Rejoice! ... "The Flea- is more than a run of the mill love poem. ... He points out that their blood is now mingled in the flea, and no sin has occurred, has it? ... The hapless flea becomes a symbol of married union, and their mixed blood a symbol of the child that could result. ... How could the flea have deserved to die, unless its' guilt had come from her blood? ...

  • Word Count: 529
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Justinian's Flea and the Roman Empire

Justinian's Flea by William Rosen describes the fall of the Roman Empire from the division of the Empire by Diocletian to the start of the rise of the Islamic powers. ... Pestis delivered by rat fleas, hence the title, would lead to the weakening of the Byzantine Empire and by this the eventual loss of most of the territory in western Europe that would lead to the start of the Medieval period. ...

  • Word Count: 708
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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