The Flea Flashcards
The Flea
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, trying to explore his relationship with the woman he loves.
The Flea
Explain what is happening in the first 2 lines:
“Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is;”
She is denying him something he craves, which at this point in the poem is unspecified, but we later understand is her virginity.
The Flea
____ 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;
The Flea
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”
The Flea
What is Donne’s argument in the first stanza
That an intimate and physical relationship is not wrong
The Flea
What is Donne complaining about (in terms of the flea) in the first stanza? Support with quotation
That the flea has already enjoyed more intimacy with the woman than he has, even though it has not had to go through the ritual of courtship
“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 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;
Why is Donne annoyed with the flea in the first stanza?
Although the speaker has played by the rules of love and courtship, the woman won’t give him in return what he wants; her virginity. The flea however he believes has gotten closer to getting this than he has, for the flea has drawn her blood. This angers the speaker.
What poetic technique in the first stanza emphasises Donne’s annoyance and frustration with his treatment at the end
In the final line, the punctuation breaks before and after “alas” which emphasise how cruelly he believes is being treated. The tone here is mock dramatic
What is humorous in the first stanza?
The reader can react with amusement with the insight gained on the poets views of his treatment.
In the final line and in the use of punctuation breaks before and after “alas”, a mock traumatic tone is created
What does Donne’s arguments switch to in the second 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 then _______ are”
“Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, nay more then married are”
