The Flea Flashcards
(38 cards)
What type of poem is this? What is the story of this poem?
It is a sensual and humorous poem (a poem of seduction) that makes use of the conceit (extended image) of a flea to explore his relationship with the woman he loves
“Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is;”
Explain what is happening in the first 2 lines
She is denying him something he craves, which is yet unspecified, but is trivial.
____ but this flea, and ____ in this,
How little that which thou ________ me is;
Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is;
In the first stanza, how does Donne add weight to his argument? Support with quotation.
By using religious imagery (‘sin’, ‘shame’) to add weight to his argument
“Thou know’st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead,”
What is Donne’s argument in the first stanza?
That a intimate and physical relationship is not wrong.
What is Donne complaining about (in terms of the flea) in the first stanza? Support with quotation
“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 has already enjoyed more intimacy than himself with this woman, even though it has not had to go through the ritual of courtship
“Yet this enjoys before it ___,
And pampered _____ with one blood made of ____,
And this, ____, is more than we would do.”
“Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pampered swells with one blood made of two,
And this, alas, is more than we would do.”
Quote where the blood of the 2 is mingled in the flea
“And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;”
“And in this ____ our two bloods _______ be;”
“And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;”
In the second stanza, what poetic technique describes the bloating of the parasite with its consumption of the couple’s blood?
The monosyllabic verb, ‘swells’, dramatically describes the bloating of the parasite
Why is Donne annoyed with the flea in the 1st stanza?
Although he has played the game of love by the rules, he is a miserable failure.
What poetic technique in the 1st stanza emphasizes Donne’s annoyance and frustration with his treatment in the end?
In the final line, the punctuation breaks before and after ‘alas’ emphasise how cruelly he believes he is being treated. This tone here is mock-dramatic
What is humorous in the first stanza?
The reader can react with amusement with the insight gained on the poet’s views of his treatment. In the final line and in the use of the punctuation breaks before and after ‘alas’ a mock-dramatic tone is created
What does Donne’s argument switch to in the 2nd stanza?
His argument switches as he asks his lover to respect the flea and what it represents
“Oh ____, three lives in ___ flea _____,
Where we almost, nay more than _______ are”
“Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, nay more than married are.”
What is evident in this quote:
Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, nay more than married are.
His pleading ton eis evident when he begs for the flea’s life to be spared.
State and explain (using quotation) the humour present in the 2nd stanza
Such flamboyant exaggeration strikes a note of homour when he is begging for her to spare the flea’s life, ‘O, stay’
What is the contents of the 2nd stanza?
The poet presents an elaborate explanation outlining why the flea should be allowed to live
What will happen as a result of the flea’s death? Support with quotation
If killed, it will not only result in the insect’s death, but also the symbolic death of the couple, as their bloods are mingled together in the body of the flea, ‘three lives in one flea spare’
“Thou _______ that this cannot be said
a ___, nor ______, nor loss of _____________”
“Thou know’st that this cannot be said
a sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead”
This flea is ____ and I, and this
Our mariage ___, and marriage _______ is;
“This flea is you and I, and thi
Our mariage bed, and marriage temple is;”
Give the quote from the 2nd stanza, stating that the flea represents the couple and has a religious undertone to it
“This flea is you and I, and thi
Our mariage bed, and marriage temple is;”
“Let not to that, ____-_______ added be
And ________, three _____ in killing three.”
“Let not to that, self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.”
“Let not to that, self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.” Explain the quote and argument
She should not kill the poor creatures, for it would be triple murder. She would kill the flea, as well as the poet whose blood it has sucked. It will also be a self-murder which is prohibited by religion. The killing of the flea would be sin and sacrilege; it would be three murders in one.
