Essay on Sexual Meaning in John Donne's Poem, The Flea

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.

     In the poem “The Flea” by John Donne, the speaker uses clever sexual innuendo and metaphors in an attempt to manipulate a certain girl into losing her virginity to him. The poem begins with the speaker explaining that a flea has bit both him and her, and now both of

be seen by the way he uses words like “Had we” and “we would”. This is

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

that this act of the flea having both of their blood in its body is

John Donne’s persuasive poem “The Flea” was written in 1633. Through the use of symbols, the poet attempt to convey a deep message. The poet attempts to convince a woman into having sex without outside of marriage, he is rejected on many counts. Donne attempts conveys his theme of desire through sexual innuendo with the utilization of symbolism of metaphors and diction.

In the final stanza the woman kills the flea. Unsurprisingly, the very dramatic Donne labels the death as “cruel and sudden” (3.1). He goes on to say that she has “purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence” (3.2). What he means by this is that the flea has done nothing more than suck her blood, yet she has ended its life. Since the mingling of blood is representative of sex, it implies that the act of sex is

Comparing The Flea and Valentine "The flea" is a metaphysical poem about a man trying to argue a virgin into bed to have sexual intercourse with him. This poem was most likely written to amuse the readers and probably more for a larger male audience. The poem was written in the late 17th century in a period where sex within marriage was like a household chore, but socially, sex before marriage was like a sin, because society was extremely religious. John Donne is attempting to get these thoughts out of her head and persuade her to have sex with him.

The Flea and To His Coy Mistress are two poems written by poets living during the Renaissance Period. To His Coy Mistress was written by Andrew Marvell and The Flea was written by John Donne. Both of these poets were well-educated 'metaphysical poets', and these poems illustrate metaphysical concerns, highly abstract and theoretical ideas, that the poets would have been interested in. Both poems are based around the same idea of trying to reason with a 'mistress' as to why they should give up their virginity to the poet.

            Finally, "The Flea" contains two major unique characteristics. One of Donne's most successful effects is sudden contrast.ii[ii] The insect seems to be no connection with romance, but by sucking blood of two characters of the poem, the flea builds a bridge between the two persons that surprises many readers.

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.

In the second stanza, Donne goes on to make the point that the flea is

Near the end of the poem, Donne makes an unlikely comparison between the couple and a draftsman's compass. This is one of his most famous metaphysical conceits because the two elements which are being compared appear completely different, and yet, amazingly, Donne is able to connect them. He explains that his wife is his "fixed foot" that leans towards him as he roams and straightens again as he returns, but remains his center. Her firmness is what makes his circle complete, "[a]nd makes [him] end where [he] begun"(line 36). The imagery of the circle and the spheres in this poem solidify the eternity of their love and the knowledge that the speaker will always return to the place where he began. Donne's comparisons create an image of celebration rather than mourning.

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