John Donne was a contemporary of Shakespeare. His writing career occurred during the Renaissance. Poems about seduction were common during this era. The Flea by John Donne was a poem about a man urging his love interest into a sexual union with him by way of reason. In this time, premarital sex was considered a great sin and could get someone in a lot of trouble. The flea in this poem was used as a symbol of love and romance. A flea was one of the things that would least likely be used to describe
“The Flea”, by John Donne is a raunchy romantic poem that explains the speakers unyielding love that is represented by an insect. Using the insect to seduce his beloved after they both get bitten by the insect. As the speaker seduces his beloved, he involves her beliefs and values, intending to get his way with her no matter what it takes. But she doesn’t give in to his manipulation. As you read more deeply into the poem, we can also see the larger and symbolic meanings of this poem. For example
“The Flea” Essay “The Flea” by John Donne when looked at briefly is simply a poem about a man trying to seduce a woman into participating in pre-material sexual relationship with him. However, “The Flea” constructs many more important arguments than simply that one. The poem touches on religion, love, and sex in a non-romanticized way, contrasting the normal glamorized stance seen in most of poetry. Most of John Donne’s poems have either romantic themes or religious themes; “The Flea” has both. It
most notably that of intimacy. In John Donne’s poem “The Flea,” extended metaphor is used to explain that the act of intimacy does not matter whether it is performed before or after marriage. Also, explicit imagery is noticeable through the poem and outlines the underlying taboo topic being discussed. Another important detail, the flea within the poem is not only used as a comparison in the extended metaphor, but also as a symbol of innocence. In “The Flea,” Donne plainly spites the acceptance of
The Flea by John Donne “The Flea”, a witty poem of seduction and conceit, taken from John Donne’s “Songs and Sonets” is the poem that I have chosen to compare to “Song”, another poem of John Donne’s where he is passionately pleading with his wife not to be disheartened about his departure abroad. Both poems which belong to “ Songs and Sonets”, written around the time of the 16th century, show that their title suggests they are both short poems, following the traditional form of a sonnet
quote definitely holds true to Andrew Marvell's poem "To His Coy Mistress" and John Donne's poem "The Flea". The theme of each of these are quite similar, these two metaphysical poets both used poetry as a way to convince their lovers to have sex with them. Being metaphysical poets, their writing styles are indeed similar as well; argument, union of lovers souls, abstruse terminology, and carpe diem. Although both Donne and Marvell used the same theme and writing styles, the way they depict their
the poem. The author John Donne has written many poems that could be interpreted in many ways, and are analyzed by many people in the United States and around the world. John Donne’s “The Flea”is a good example of a poem that can be analyzed for its physical and intellectual parts, and how they work together to make the poem what it is because it is descriptive, and can be interpreted in many ways. First, it is important to look at the physical parts of a poem. Donne’s “The Flea”is comprised of three
The Flea by John Donne In the poem "The Flea", by John Donne, the speaker uses a peculiar analogy in order to persuade his beloved to engage in premarital intercourse with him. The poem is composed of three stanzas that tell a story in chronological order about a flea that has sucked the blood of the two subjects. It tells the reader how the speaker attempts to persuade his beloved not to kill the flea because it is their marriage bed and then tells of how the woman
impression of “The Flea,” one does not expect an erotic love story. The title suggests a tiny insect may be the main focus of the poem, but this assumption proves to be incorrect. Using intense metaphors, imagery, symbolism, and alliteration to perform his argument, the speaker is attempting to woo a lady in a rather repulsive romantic comedy approach. Throughout the couplets, the flea is personified and becomes symbolic of a much greater meaning. Although John Donne’s “The Flea” obviously discusses
noticeable influence. For example, in the poem, “The Flea”, by John Donne, initially it referred to a flea biting the speaker but as the reader proceeds further the perspective changes from this flea into the larger picture, which is a humorous little debate whether the speaker and his beloved will partake in premarital sex or not. Donne chose to word the poem in a format very similar to Frost’s definition of poetry. Donne begins using the flea as an analogy and this translates into the persuasive