John Donne

The author of "The Flea" is John Donne, a English and
metaphysical poet. He was born into a catholic family on January
22 , 1572 in London, United Kingdom. Donne's father died in 1576
and his mother later married a wealthy widower and she sadly
died on March 31, 1631. At the age 11 John Donne entered Oxford
University. After he attended the University Cambridge John
Donne began studying law at Lincoln Inn at the age 20. Donne
wrote most of his love and erotic poems during the 1590s. After
Donne's brother Henry died in prison, John started questioning his
religion. Around 1600 fleas were seen as just natural parts of a
bedroom scene. Donne referred to the flea as a creature that
sucked both their bloods. Unlike other poets, he didn’t describe
various body parts that the flea visited. Donne was a young man
and was described as a man who got a lot of attention from
woman. He might have been used to a quick response from a
woman, but didn't get his way so easily with the woman in this
poem.

In 1601 Donne secretly married Anne More, Sir Thomas
Egerton's 16 year-old niece. This was a reckless romance
that sent him to jail and then poverty. It is possible that this
poem refers to a love scene before they ran away and got
married. In 1610, John Donne published " Pseudo Matyr" a
anti-Catholic polemic where he renounced his faith. In 1615,
Donne converted to Anglicanism and became royal
chaplain. John Donne's wife died shortly after giving birth to
their twelfth child. He no longer wrote love poems after her
death and focused on religious subjects. He became dean of
St. Paul's Cathedral and severally ill. While he was ill he
published "Devotions upon Emergent Occasions" in 1624.
John Donne's death continued to fail him and he became
obsessed with death. He knew he was going to die soon and
delivered a pre-funeral sermon "Death Duel." Sadly, John
Donne died on March 31, 1631 in London, England.






This poem alternates metrically between lines
in iambic tetrameter and lines in iambic
pentameter.
This poem has a 4-5 stress pattern ending with
two pentameter lines at the end of each stanza.
The stress pattern in each of the nine line
stanzas is 454545455, the rhyme scheme of this
poem is: aabbccddd. The rhyme scheme in
each stanza is similarly regular couplets, with
the last line rhyming with the final couplet. The
first and last line of each stanza has eight
syllables.
Poetic device used: conceit (extended
metaphor) including
in lines
1,5,12,19, and 23.
The tone at first seems conversational
discussing, an innocent flea who has sucked
two lovers blood, however as the poem
continues the tone becomes more rhetoric and
persuasive.
This poem again exhibits Donne's
metaphysical love, his aptitude of turning the
least likely images into elaborate symbols of
love.
Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deny’st me is;
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be.
Thou know'st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead;
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pampered swells with one blood made of
two;
And this, alas, is more than we would do.
Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, yea more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.
Though parents grudge, and you, we are met
And cloistered in these living walls of jet.
Though use make you apt to kill me,
Let not to that self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.
Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?
Yet thou triumph'st, and say'st that thou
Find'st not thyself nor me the weaker now.
'Tis true ; then learn how false fears be;
Just so much honor, when thou yield‘st to me,
Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee.
Mark but this flea, and mark in
this,
How little that which thou deniest
me is;
It sucked me first, and now sucks
thee,
And in this flea our two bloods
mingled be;
Thou know’st that this cannot be
said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of
maidenhead,
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pampered swells with one
blood made of two,
And this, alas, is more than we
would do.


“The Flea” is a poem about a man who
wants to have sex with a woman who denies
his offer. In each stanza, you will see that he
tries a different approach.
In the first stanza, Donne attempts to
convince the women by making a
comparison between them and the flea. The
speaker tells the woman that even though
they haven’t had sex that in a way, they have
been united. He shows her this by saying
that the flea sucked some of his blood and
then sucked some from her. Like this they
had not committed a sin, shame or she has
lost her virginity. The flea makes this unity
even before he gained her love; the flea is
spoiled with both of their bloods that have
been mixed into one. This expression of
unity inside the flea goes beyond what they
would do.
Oh stay, three lives in one flea
spare,
Where we almost, nay more than
married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage
temple is;
Though parents grudge, and you,
w'are met,
And cloistered in these living
walls of jet.
Though use make you apt to
kill me,
Let not to that, self-murder
added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in
killing three.

In the second stanza Donne wants to
save the flea because inside this flea is
their relationship that is bigger than
marriage. The speaker tells her that now
the flea is not only a flea but now it is her
and he. He uses persuasive language to
woo his lover “this flea is you and I.” He
says that the flea now has become their
marriage bed and temple. Even with her
parent’s strong will and hers they cannot
undo the unity inside the flea’s body. In
line fifteen he personifies “living walls”
and uses them as a reference to the
flea. Then the man tells the woman not
to kill the flea because not only would
she murder the life of a flea but the three
of them which would be a sin. He shows
her negative attitude towards his lover
because he is trying to make her feel as
if she was the one doing something bad.
Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail, in blood of
innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it sucked
from thee?
Yet thou triumph’st, and say'st that
thou
Find’st not thy self, nor me the
weaker now;
’Tis true; then learn how false,
fears be:
Just so much honor, when thou
yield’st to me,
Will waste, as this flea’s death took
life from thee.

In the third stanza the woman
carelessly kills the flea making
her finger filthy innocent blood.
This is a significant allusion to the
bible related to the birth of Jesus
Christ. At the time when Jesus was
born, the king Erode had all
children within the age of one
and two killed. He tells her that
the flea was innocent, the only
thing that the flea had done was
sucking out a drop of blood from
her. She finds herself victories
and feels that neither of them is
weaker now. He shows her that
the flea only took little blood from
her. He feels that she lost as much
honor in losing her virginity to
him as the small amount of blood
the flea took.
Mingled: to mix or combine
Cloistered: to close or be shut
Sacrilege: the violation or profanation of
anything sacred or held sacred.
Triumph’st: the act, fact, or condition of
being victorious
1. What type of poet is the author?
2. When was John Donne born?
3. Which line uses personification?
4. What does the speaker’s lover do to the flea?
5. Which lines used enjambment?
6. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
7. What type of language did the speaker used to
woo his lover?
 8. How many lives did the speaker’s lover killed
when she killed the flea?
 9. What’s the definition of mingled?
 10. True/ False John Donne tries to save the flea
because inside this flea is their relationship that
is bigger than marriage.






