His Mistress Going To Bed By Donne

On the surface, John Donne’s poem “The Flea” dramatizes the conflict between two people on the issue of premarital sex, however, under the surface, the poem uses religious imagery to seduce the woman into having sex. The speaker in this poem is a man, who is strategically trying to convince a woman to have premarital sex with him through the conceit based on a flea, however, the coy lady has thus far yielded to his lustful desires. The speaker’s argument has the form of logic, which contradicts to its outrageous content.

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.

He uses the flea as an excuse for marriage and that they are now permitted to have sex. Out of desperation Donne shifts to a more religiously point of view by saying, “And sacrilege, three sinnes in killing three.” (Line 18) This means that if the woman kills the flea, she is killing the flea, him, herself, and God. However, the women squashes the flea along with his argument and Donne is left with one final go at convincing the woman. The final stanza of the poem expresses his sheer desperation to have sex with the woman as he deviates to using a lenient approach. He blames her not for killing the flea, but says that her act did not damage her honour in any way, and that she should still “yeeld’st to mee” (Line 26), or should still sleep with him. The content of The Flea demonstrates the exact sexist attitude that John Donne possessed when he wrote his early love poems. Likewise, the same desire for physical pleasure can be seen in the poem The Sunne Rising. This poem encompasses Donne’s ignorance of his surroundings and his obsession for sexual pleasure. Throughout the poem he attacks and challenges the sun with contempt, and does so by personifying it. He is obviously disturbed and troubled by the “unruly Sunne” (Line 1) and tells

Written during the 17th century, John Donne utilizes an unconventional genre in his poem, demeaning and objectifying the female sex. A common motif in poems of the Renaissance, Donne uses a flea as a metaphorical comparison to sexual intercourse and the eternal bind between man and woman. Illustrated throughout the poem, Donne

“For That He Looked Not Upon Her” written by George Gascoigne, a sixteenth century poet, is a poem in which the speaker feels like he cannot look upon the one he loves so that he will not be trapped by her. In this poem, Gascoigne uses closed form, visual imagery, and miserable diction to tell why the speaker cannot look upon the face of the woman he loves.

The theme of this poem was easily determined after reading through the poem. The poet has a certain desire of the woman he’s trying to get into his bed, making sex seem like no big deal, “How little that which thou deniest me is” (Donne); sex wasn’t taken lightly in the 17th century for unmarried woman and he attempts to make it seem as small as a flea. He is straightforward with his offer; rather than attempting to arouse the woman, he attempted to appeal to her sense of reason. Donne is in belief that she was tempted, so he attempts to coerce her into the deed. Marriage is a reoccurring theme and use of persuasion go get the woman to have sex with him, “O stay, three lives in one flea spare. Where we almost, yeah more than married are” (Donne). He uses the second stanza to focus on marriage.

Writer, Truman Capote in the story, "Nacy's Bedroom" from the book "In Cold Blood" describes a young innocent girl's bedroom. Capote's purpose is to give insight on Nancy and gives reason to why her killing was unjust. He adopts a sentimental tone by using imagery, details, and varied sentence structure in order to appeal to the readers sensitive side. Capote starts his silent argument by addressing that Nancy's bedroom was the most personal. He appeals to the emotions of the reader by helping the them picture he room and the colors it was made from.

Donne’s 17th century neo-classical metaphysical poetry is based around his own personal experiences and the historic context. While Margaret Edson’s 20th century metatheatrical post-modern play Wit has exploited Donne’s strong religious ideas and metaphysical conceits, it has deciphered it towards a more secular context and audience. Despite contextual differences, the two composers, through in textual reading, shares and explores the common values and ideas including the value of relationships and the concept of death.

At first, after discovering she had frequent migraines, Didion denied her predicament. She felt embarrassed, like it was a secret that would enforce to others her negative qualities. Eventually, she began to accept the fact that migraines were simply something she would have to get used to.

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 theme of a story can often directly relate to the title of the text, but sometimes the true meaning of the story hides in between the lines of the poem. Donne utilized this technique in “The Ecstasy” to justify the meaning of his poem, while the text presents a slightly different idea. According to the an online encyclopedia, the “title of the poem refers not to the modern meaning of the word ecstasy—rapture or delight, especially of a sexual nature—but rather to a Renaissance-era meaning that describes the movement of the soul outside of the body” (Overview: The Ecstasy). This explains the denotation that the text presents and the importance that the title has towards Donne’s theme of spiritual love. The term “ecstasy,” in modern language, relates to the idea of physical excitement or satisfaction. However, the way Donne uses it in his work is through the consideration of two souls and the journey to true love.

During the 17th century, certain poets wrote poems with the specific purpose of persuading a woman to have sexual intercourse with them. Three of these seduction poems utilize several strategies to do this: Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress,” and Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidden Mourning” and “The Flea.” Some of the reasoning used by both poets is similar to the reasoning used today by men to convince women to have sexual intercourse with them. These gimmicks vary from poem to poem but coincide with modern day rationalization. The tactics used in 17th century seduction poems are relevant and similar to the seduction tactics used in the 21st century.

but as you read on, you realise it is not her he is criticising but

Metaphysical poets use startling juxtapositions in their poetry to create a greater significance in their arguments and intended meanings throughout the poem. John Donne is said to be the unsurpassed metaphysical poet, metaphysical poetry being poetry relating to a group of 17-century English poets whose verse is typified by an intellectually arduous style, admitting extended metaphors and comparing very disparate things. In 17th century England new discoveries were being made and social customs such as men being the dominant over women still applied. Through Donne’s poetry we can see that he is goaded and confused by the new discoveries and the social customs avert him from reaching his desires. This is incalculably recognized in his