The Flea (John Donne) - Poetry Analysis

The Flea - John Donne
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.

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 mariage 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.

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.

Analysis

Context

-Written by John Donne, published in 1633 (posthumously)

-Donne was a metaphysical poet , focussing on inventive use of conceits, and speculation on topics such as love or religion.

Form

-The poem is a conceit, meaning an ingenious or fanciful comparison or metaphor.

-Structure: 4 iambic feet, then 5 iambic feet.

Narrative Analysis

-The poem contrasts the insignificance of the flea to the woman’s contextually valuable ‘maidenhead’, creating bathos.

-‘Thou knowst that this cannot be said/ a sin, nor shame, nor maidenhead’ – she knows that being bitten by a flea is not a sin, so Donne compares this to ‘loss of maidenhead’, claiming it is just as insignificant.

-Strong links to religion – ‘three lives in one flea’ possibly reflects father, son, and holy spirit – the trinity ‘one god in three persons’ could also mean that it is inversion. ‘Marriage temple’ –odd choice of words - A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Juxtaposition of what is at its heart pure, with something that, in the church’s eyes, is indecent – sex out of wedlock. Bathos. May link to corruption within the church, takes on the same purpose as a comedy of manner, ridiculing society.