The Flea Poem Analysis

In 1633, John Donne published a metaphysical poem titled The Flea. This poem consists of an erotic theme where a flea is used as a metaphor in order to demonstrate the affair between the speaker and their lover. In the same year, The Altar was published by George Herbert. This poem illustrates the religious notion of how one must sacrifice themselves to God through the use of an altar. In the following, The Flea and The Altar will be compared and contrasted in terms of the physical shape of the texts, literary devices, and how the themes religion and conflict are presented.
With the use of literary devices, Donne and Herbert are able to establish the speaker in their respective texts. In The Flea, Donne writes ‘And in this flea, our two bloods mingled be’, which can be argued to be a metaphor. The flea sucked the blood from both the speaker and the lover, causing the blood to mix together. With this line, the speaker compares the mixing of his blood with their lovers’ to the …show more content…
It can be argued that this was done on purpose in order to allow the reader to approach the altar themselves once they read the poem. With this, the reader is put in the place of the speaker, thus the reader is the one offering themselves to God. As stated before, ‘HEART’ is placed in the center of the text. This emphasizes the notion that the heart of the servant is what must be sacrificed and purified. ("Herbert And The Temple: Reading Through Religious Experience") John Donne’s The Flea and George Herbert’s The Altar differ at first read. One poem consists of sexual desire and erotic persuasion while the other contains a speaker who is conscientious and willing to sacrifice himself to God. That said, both works are similar in regards metaphysical qualities and to their religious features. Furthermore, both Donne and Herbert use literary devices such as metaphors in order to illustrate the themes of conflict and religion