The Flea Flashcards
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Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is;
Rhyming structure makes the words appear musical, like he is mocking his conquest
He is using the scale of the Flea to represent the insignificance of her virginity
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;
This is a repeated idea from previous poems of the couples joining as one
The blood is representative of the fluids shared during intercourse
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead,
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pampered swells with one blood made of two,
The list builds to the climax while being broken up with punctuation: giving the impression that each word is a jovial jab being poked at his lover
Donne also seems almost indignant towards the Flea: as it has received his prize without having to expend the effort donne has
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is;
He again uses a climactic list as a persuasive technique to lure his lover in
Alliterative “m” sound softens his tone and it appears he is trying to goad her using kindness
Though parents grudge, and you, w’are met,
And cloistered in these living walls of jet.
Parallel rhyme again adds rhythm to donne’s speech creating a tone of whimsy to build on the idea that he is covering his intentions with kindness
Donne is using the fleas body to represent the separate rooms and sections of a church, to build the idea that they have joined: the implication being that they’re already married
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.
The idea of a trinity is introduced which furthers the religious imagery: the idea that the gravity of killing this flea is akin to killing the holy trinity
Sibelance suggests a soft tone as if he is trying to close his argument there and then
Find’st not thy self, nor me the weaker now;
’Tis true; then learn how false, fears be:
Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me,
The structured Parenthesis suggests rapid speech as if Donne is panicked trying to think of a way to further his argument
The extended sentence furthers this also
