The Flea Flashcards
Who wrote the Flea?
John Donne
What period is the Flea from?
The metaphysical period
What is the flea about?
The Flea by John Donne is a metaphysical poem where the speaker uses the image of a flea that has bitten both him and a woman to argue that their physical union is already symbolically achieved. He suggests that since their blood has mingled in the flea, there is no need for further moral hesitation about intimacy. The poem explores themes of love, desire, and the relationship between the physical and the spiritual.
What happened in the metaphysical period?
17th century
Intellectual Themes: Explores love, death, religion, and existence.
Conceits: Extended metaphors linking unlikely ideas (e.g., The Flea).
Wit & Paradox: Clever reasoning, using contradiction to explore complex ideas.
Emotional Intensity: Merges intellect with strong personal emotions.
Colloquial Language: Simple but sophisticated, with a conversational tone.
Focus on the Self: Examines individual relationships, identity, and spirituality.
What is a barrier to love in The Flea
Social & Religious Conventions: The main barrier to love in The Flea is the woman’s adherence to societal and religious norms that view physical intimacy outside of marriage as immoral.
How It’s Presented:
The speaker argues that since their blood has already mingled within the flea, any further separation or hesitation is meaningless. However, the woman’s resistance to this argument reflects her adherence to conventional moral values, which the speaker challenges.
Significance:
The flea becomes a symbol of the triviality of these societal barriers. The speaker’s attempt to diminish the seriousness of sexual boundaries highlights the tension between physical desire and moral constraints, making these societal norms the central barrier to love.
“Mark but this flea, and mark in this, / How little that which thou deny’st me is.”
(First stanza)
The speaker argues that the woman’s reluctance to consummate their love is exaggerated. The flea, which contains both their blood, represents the idea that their union has already happened on a small, symbolic level. The barrier is her refusal to acknowledge this mingling and her hesitation, influenced by social and religious norms.
“It sucked me first, and now sucks thee, / And in this flea our two bloods mingled be.”
(First stanza)
The flea symbolizes the connection between the two lovers, suggesting that the mingling of their blood is already an act of intimacy. The woman’s resistance to the speaker’s advances reveals the barrier of societal and moral taboos, as she sees physical intimacy as a forbidden act outside marriage.
“This flea is you and I, and this / Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.”
(Second stanza)
The speaker uses the flea to suggest that their physical union is already sanctified, framing it as a “marriage bed” and “temple.” This challenges the woman’s moral and religious beliefs that love and sex must occur within the confines of marriage, showing how societal expectations act as a barrier to their love.
“Oh, stay, three lives in one flea spare, / Where we almost, yea, more than married are.”
(Third stanza)
The speaker implores the woman not to kill the flea, emphasizing that it contains their lives and their union. The “three lives” refer to both of their lives and the flea’s, suggesting their intimate bond. The barrier to love is the woman’s fear of sinning, which is rooted in her religious and societal upbringing, causing her to view the act of killing the flea (and by extension, their love) as an immoral action.
“Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me, / Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.”
(Final stanza)
The speaker argues that the woman’s hesitation to engage in physical love is as insignificant as the killing of the flea. He diminishes the importance of her moral resistance, suggesting that her honor will not be tarnished by giving in to desire. The barrier to love is her fear of losing her honor, influenced by societal pressures regarding chastity and reputation.
TS for The Flea (barriers to love)
In The Flea, John Donne explores the barrier to love through the speaker’s challenge to the woman’s societal and religious inhibitions, using the flea as a metaphor to argue that their physical union is already symbolically achieved, rendering moral resistance both illogical and unnecessary.
TS for masculinity in The Flea?
In The Flea, John Donne uses the extended metaphor of the flea to explore the tension between love and masculinity, presenting the speaker’s attempt to diminish the significance of physical intimacy and manipulate societal norms, revealing the fragility and insecurity beneath the façade of masculine control in romantic pursuit.
Quote 1: “Mark but this flea, and mark in this, / How little that which thou deny’st me is.”
(First stanza)
MASCULINITY
• Masculine Control: The speaker minimizes the importance of physical intimacy, suggesting that what the woman denies him is trivial compared to the mingling of their blood in the flea. This reflects his attempt to assert control over the situation, framing the act as insignificant and a trivial barrier to love.
• Undermining Sexual Boundaries: The speaker’s attempt to manipulate the situation reveals an insecurity in his masculinity, where he seeks to challenge traditional norms of chastity and the sexual boundaries placed on women.
Quote 2: “It sucked me first, and now sucks thee, / And in this flea our two bloods mingled be.”
(First stanza)
MASCULINITY
• Symbol of Intimacy: The flea represents the physical union between the speaker and the woman. By using it as a metaphor for their mingled blood, the speaker attempts to make the act of intimacy seem harmless, presenting it as already achieved in a minor and inconsequential form.
• Masculinity and Control: The flea becomes a symbol of the speaker’s desire to control and trivialize the sexual act, thus diminishing the woman’s resistance and attempting to assert his masculine dominance over her in matters of love.
Quote 3: “This flea is you and I, and this / Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.”
(Second stanza)
• Marriage and Masculine Desire: By calling the flea their “marriage bed” and “temple,” the speaker equates their union with a sacred, yet trivialized, bond. This reflects the speaker’s attempt to frame the sexual act as something less serious, thereby manipulating the woman’s sense of morality and undermining the traditional masculine ideals of honor and commitment in love.
• Masculinity and Manipulation: The speaker’s use of religious and sacred imagery highlights his effort to present himself as controlling the situation, using religious authority to justify physical intimacy and thus reaffirming his masculine role as the pursuer.
Quote 4: “Oh, stay, three lives in one flea spare, / Where we almost, yea, more than married are.”
MASCULINITY
• Masculine Assertion of Power: The speaker argues that by killing the flea, the woman would be destroying not just their physical connection but their “three lives,” suggesting a profound and symbolic union. This shows how the speaker attempts to exaggerate the significance of their relationship, elevating it to a level beyond physical intimacy in an effort to manipulate her response.
• Masculinity and Vulnerability: The use of “three lives” suggests the speaker’s emotional vulnerability, as he is using the metaphor of a shared life to try and convince the woman of the depth of their bond. The speaker’s assertion that they are “more than married” reveals his desperation to make the connection seem legitimate and to assert masculine dominance over the situation.
Quote 5: “Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me, / Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.”
MASCULINITY
• Masculinity and Honor: The speaker attempts to diminish the significance of the woman’s honor, equating her loss of honor with the trivial death of the flea. By doing so, he manipulates her sense of morality, suggesting that physical intimacy will not result in the loss of anything important.
• Masculine Manipulation: The speaker’s comparison of honor to the flea’s death illustrates the speaker’s attempt to make the woman’s resistance seem unnecessary, reflecting his belief that his masculinity is tied to conquering her desire and overcoming her moral hesitation.
TS for The Flea on freedom and love
In The Flea, John Donne explores the tension between freedom and love by using the flea as a metaphor for the speaker’s desire to trivialize physical intimacy and undermine traditional notions of chastity, suggesting that true freedom in love can only be achieved by transcending societal constraints and embracing the inevitability of shared desire.
TS for The Flea on freedom and love
In The Flea, John Donne explores the tension between freedom and love by using the flea as a metaphor for the speaker’s desire to trivialize physical intimacy and undermine traditional notions of chastity, suggesting that true freedom in love can only be achieved by transcending societal constraints and embracing the inevitability of shared desire.
Quote 1: “Mark but this flea, and mark in this, / How little that which thou deny’st me is.”
FREEDOM
Freedom and Desire: The speaker uses the flea to argue that the physical act of intimacy is insignificant. By comparing the woman’s resistance to the “little” action of denying him intimacy, he minimizes the importance of societal constraints on love and suggests that freedom in love lies in overcoming these trivial barriers.
• Manipulating Love: This argument for freedom in love reflects the speaker’s desire to make physical intimacy seem inconsequential, pushing the woman to view it as a natural and minor expression of affection.
Quote 2: “It sucked me first, and now sucks thee, / And in this flea our two bloods mingled be.”
(First stanza)
FREEDOM
Metaphor for Shared Intimacy: The flea becomes a symbol for the mingling of their blood, representing the physical union the speaker desires. This union, though achieved through the flea, suggests that love, while often confined by societal norms, can be freely shared without the constraints of formal rituals like marriage.
• Freedom in Love: By reducing intimacy to a simple, almost inconsequential act, the speaker implies that true freedom in love lies in the freedom to engage without the baggage of societal expectations or moral restrictions.
Quote 3: “This flea is you and I, and this / Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.”
(Second stanza)
• Freedom from Convention: The speaker elevates the flea to the status of a “marriage bed” and “marriage temple,” suggesting that love does not need the formal institution of marriage to be meaningful. By using the flea as a sacred symbol, the speaker argues that freedom in love lies in transcending social conventions and embracing a more personal, liberated form of connection.
• Trivializing Societal Norms: The speaker’s attempt to transform the flea into a holy symbol for their union challenges the traditional, restrictive views of love and marriage, pushing the idea that love can exist independently from these formalities.
