A N H N G U Y E N
R E M A N S H E R G I L L
J U A N M A C I A S
K A T E L Y N N G U Y E N

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John Donne was born between 24 January and 19 June 1573 and died 31 March in 1631 due to stomach cancer (age 59)
London, England
Occupations: Priest, lawyer, and poet
Since his life was always changing, it reflected on his writing
In 1602 he was elected as a member of parliament
Married to Anne More just before Christmas in 1601 in a prison cell
The marriage ruined his career and earned him a short stay in a prison
His wife died on 15 August 1617, five days after giving birth to their twelfth child
When Donne wrote “The Flea” he was already married to Anna which had significant influence in the writing of this poem

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Broken into three stanzas
1 iambic tetrameter and 2 iambic pentameters
Rhyme Scheme: AA BB CC DDD
Each stanza is a x-lined stanza
The whole poem is a conceit

Stanza 1
 The speaker tries to convince the woman not to kill the flea but rather bite her so their blood with fuse
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The speaker gets aroused at the thought of both their blood mixing inside the flea
His argument, then, is that because the flea's meal is not shameful, sex with him must not be shameful either
The speaker complains that the bug gets to enjoy her flesh without wooing her

Stanza 2
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The speaker begs her to hold off. In a desperate effort he says it represents our marriage
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The speaker says the flea contains three lives his, hers and the flea’s
The speakers states that her parents have a bad feeling about their union and that the jet black body of the flea acts as a cloister (church)
But he says if she kills the flea she will be committing three separate sins: Murder, suicide, and sacrilege

Stanza 3
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She killed the bug, but all that happened is that she stained her fingernail with the “purple” blood.
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He asks how the flea could have been guilty of anything except taking some of her blood
The woman has beaten the flea she has also triumphed over the speaker's argument
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He admits that arguments has fallen apart
He will now prove that her earlier fears have been unfounded.
When she resists his seduction she loses the same amount of honor that she lost when she killed the flea
The poem ends before she can even respond

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Donne’s use of diction creates a persuasive tone throughout the poem
Ex. “…it sucks me first and now sucks thee”
Donne uses words like spare, kill, self-murder sacrilege, three sins and killing
The speaker tries to make the woman feel guilty of a violation for not being intimate with him

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Throughout the poem the speaker changes his approach towards the woman to benefit himself
“The Flea” is a metaphysical poem so it contains wild shifts in the imaginative setting of the poem
Marriage is the major theme in the poem because it affects the woman choice and reflects Donne’s life
Guilt was the reason the killing of the flea was prolonged and affected the decision of whether to sleep with him or not

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