Comparison Of 'To His Coy MistressAndThe Flea'

John Donne’s poems are similar in their content. They usually point out at same topics like love, lust, sex and religion; only they are dissimilar in the feelings they express. These subjects reflect the different stages of his life: the lust of his youth, the love of his married middle age, and the piety of the latter part of his life. His poem,’ The Flea’ represents the restless feeling of lust during his youthful days but it comes together with a true respect for women through the metaphysical conceit of the flea as a church in the rhythm of the sexual act.

Following a unique poetic language of the Renaissance, John Donne's ‘The Flea' is a poem illustrating the metaphor of a flea to represent the sexual act and relations between a man and woman. Portrayed through language, imagery, and structure John Donne's poem is one of conceit and seduction, as the speaker (assumed to be a man) follows a consistent pattern of persuasion to have premarital sex with a woman.

In both poems there is the recurrent theme of irony. In “To His Coy Mistress” the poem’s entire first section is ironic in the sense that the speaker knows he isn’t being genuine. The speaker uses words to his advantage and we can take little of what he says to be truthful. In Line 1, “Had we but world enough, and time”. The first section of the poem is a series of hyperbolic statements meant to impress and flatter the reader but the

Poetry is not only a brilliant form of expression, but also a powerful tool for persuasion. The renowned metaphysical poet John Donne uses the genre for this very purpose in “The Flea,” a work in which he encourages a young woman to have premarital sex with him. Donne backs his argument by referring to a flea that has sucked his own blood as well as his lover’s. In the first stanza Donne assures the woman that sleeping together would be a minor act. When he says “How little that which thou deniest me is” he promises the woman that the act would be as miniscule as the flea is in size (1.2). Also, by using the word “deniest” he tries to make the women feel a sense of guilt, as if

He goes on to suggest that, when she has killed the flea that holds blood, which in this case is considered as ?life?, from both him and her, that the blood lost had not weakened them (?Find?st not thyself, nor me the weaker now?) and she had not lost any honour. Therefore, with these points considered, the blood she would lose to him would not make her weaker and she would not lose any honour, ?Just so much honour, when thou yield?st to me/ Will waste, as this flea?s death took life from thee?. To some extent, both poets express a way in which they will consummate or have consummated their mistress. Marvell suggests that they should ?roll all their strength and all/ Their sweetness into one ball? and ?tear? their pleasures ?with rough strife/ Through the iron gates of life.? Whereas Marvell explains the consummation as aggressive, sensual and romantic, Donne uses the flea, a very insignificant, unromantic creature, to imply sexual intercourse, ?and in this flee, our two bloods mingled be.?

The Jet Black Flea: A Language Analysis of John Donne’s “The Flea” The cultural outlook toward the venereal desires shared by the population during the 17th century was essentially one of abstinence until marriage. In his poem “The Flea”, John Donne establishes an imagined debate regarding chastity and the mortal yearning between lovers. A scholar witnessing this debate in a modern social landscape characterized by a difference in values regarding pre-marital sex may have difficulty understanding the sentiment behind “The Flea” and must begin with an investigation of the contemporary language used throughout.

In ‘The Flea’, John Donne uses humorous and erotic lines to come up with a tale about a young man trying to seduce his mistress while using a flea to prove his point. The speakers’ mistress does not want to sleep with him for fear of the sin that would be committed. He spins the truth around by saying because the flea has already bitten them both, they are technically already married inside the flea and are committing no sin. Donne uses many literary devices including, puns, metaphors, personification, and also many references to religion, all to help the speaker win his case. The speaker makes a great case for himself by using the metaphor of the flea, other literary devices, and religion to try to seduce his woman.

Out of all of the stories and poems in the history of the world, many of them will have similarities and differences. Merriman conveys, “If human life were not limited by space and time, the beloved’s coyness would not harm the lover and the beloved. They would sit and plan how to pass their long time.” The poem “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell is all about a man trying to convince a woman to do something she doesn’t really want to do. The poem “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Robert Herrick is about a man talking to many woman not to die without living. In the poems “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell and “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Robert Herrick there are many comparison to be made.

The Flea is a delightful example of Donne’s self-assured and finely accomplished application of a bold allegory that instills a flea. This flea is the least likely of romantic figures due to the magnitude and status it carries within society. Donne’s talent to exemplify sexual longing, immorality, sanctified love and holy marriage in a minimal flea before eventually spinning this humorous poem around. The energetic ludicrousness of the self-importance compliments the enthusiastic spirit of them making this poem passionate yet

"The Flea" by John Donne is written in the 17th century as is "To his

alcohol in the hope that she will sleep with him if she is drunk. In

In the poem "To His Coy Mistress" in three stanzas the speaker is convincing his female beloved to sleep with him, he says that his lover's "coyness" and doubtfulness would be adequate if they had all the time in the world. The speaker convinces his lady by saying that time is fleeting and in the same manner as all other humans their time will end one day so why not make love now. In the poem "The Flea" in three stanzas the speaker is also convincing his female beloved to sleep with him, he uses a flea as a way to convince his lover that their bodily fluids have already came together. The speaker declares that having sexual intercourse will not be that big of a deal being that their bodily fluids have already came together. Towards the end of the poem the speaker claims that

Because the man, woman, and flea are connected, the man can use the union of blood to claim the negation of sin. In lines 3-6 the man is claiming that there is no true consequence in accepting his offer to join him in bed. The man says, “It sucked me first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea, our two bloods mingled be; Thou know’st that this cannot be said A sin, or shame, or loss of maidenhead,” in order to assure the woman that no harm will come of the actions that ensue. The moral consequences of sex are sin and shame, and maidenhead (virginity) is supposed to be the most sacred of the three. In removing sin, shame, and maidenhead, the man puts the woman in a “you have no reason to say no” situation. This example is one of the uses of irony Donne cleverly places to guide the woman towards the man.

The Poet's Treatment of Seduction in To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell and The Passionate Shepherd To His Love by Christopher Marlowe

It would seem that the protagonists in The Flea and To His Coy Mistress are both after the same thing; they’re attempting to persuade their mistress to have sex with them. Within each of the poems the male protagonists use imagery with insects to degrade the importance of chastity. Both of the passages refer to the woman’s virginity in comparison to these insects. Insects used as metaphors for sex appear differently within the texts. In The Flea, The protagonist calls it "the loss of maidenhead” and in To His Coy Mistress the male clearly states “that long preserved virginity” belonging to his mistress. The protagonists in the poems speak with graphic imagery. In The Flea the man uses the flea, which has bitten them both, as a symbol for their