The Flea by John Donne Poem Analysis Anh Nguyen Reman Shergill Juan Macias Katelyn Nguyen

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 stanzas 1 iambic tetrameter and 2 iambic pentameters Rhyme Scheme: AA BB CC DDD Each stanza is a x-lined stanza The whole poem is a conceit

Summary Stanza 1 The 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 2 The speaker begs her to hold off. In a desperate effort he says it represents our marriage The speaker says the flea contains three lives his, hers and the flea’s The 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 3 She 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 blood The 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 flea The 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 killing The 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 Now Grade Us