The Flea By John Donne

For the last paper of the semester I decided to reflect on one of the poems which we have read as a class in the beginning of the semester. The poem that I choose is “The Flea” by John Donne. Now Donne is a writer who is known as not only one of the greatest English poets , but for his writing of prose. It took people many years to give Donne the recognition that he deserves for his poetic genius.There were many skeptics who could not see the potential or poetic purpose of Donne’s poetry. After many years, Donne began to get the recognition in which his poetry deserved. As a writer his attention to detail and ability to bring forth such raw emotion, is one of the many reasons why his poetry is so compelling. Unlike, many writers today Donne …show more content…
The speaker is mentioning the flea’s presence , but he also repeats the word mark. This indicates that he is remembering a certain moment or memory at this time. The flea itself evoked this memory of either someone or something that was important in the speaker’s life. The second line of the first stanza states “ how little that which thou deniest me is”, the speaker is saying that they are being denied something so small. The speaker could be referring to his relationship with the individual that is connected in some way to the flea. The flea itself could actually be attached to this individual who the speaker is talking about. In lines 3-4 he goes on to say that the flee sucked the blood of this other person( who I assume to be his significant other) and himself. Then he says that their blood mingled, meaning that they became one in a sense inside of the flea. This mixing of blood may also be a metaphor for something sexual between the two individuals. In lines 5-6 the speaker convinces his …show more content…
In line 19 the speaker starts off by stating that her action is cruel and sudden. Then in line 20 he sees that after she kills the flea she just gets blood on her fingernail nothing else. The action of the woman killing the flea is symbolic for her destroying the relationship in which she and the speaker have together. In lines 21-22 the speaker then questions the woman asking what could the flea have done to deserve death? Lines 23-24 the speaker says that the woman triumphs over him because after murdering the flea she suffered no coincidence. The speaker begins to feel “weaker” in a sense because his argument was wrong all along. Then in the concluding lines of the paragraph (lines 25-27) it seems that the speaker has come to terms with the fact that his argument had no basis. He goes on to try to prove that the woman not rejecting him would be just as honorable as her action of killing the flea. Meaning that morally she will be seen in the same way so, she should choose to have a sexual relationship with him. Then in the last line of the poem the speaker states “ Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee.” The speaker basically sees the flea’s death as pointless because the speaker lost not only his blood , but a physical interaction with the woman. Although, the speaker realizes this he is still trying to convince the woman to be with him,