Name____________________________
British Literature II
Poetry Worksheet
16th-17th Century Love Poems
The Flea
John Donne
use - habit
jet - black
It was accepted theory in Donne’s time that during sex, the blood streams of the partners mingled.
Who (or what type of person) is the poet addressing in this poem? What’s your evidence? How does the
speaker feel about this person? How do you know?
How does a flea come into the conversation? What significance does it take on? How?
Why does the speaker say the other person shouldn’t kill the flea?
What does the other person do? How does the speaker comment on this?
What is the overall point of the poem, both practically and philosophically?