The Flea-Donne Flashcards
What are the key structural devices in The Flea?
- Broken iambic tetrameter
-reflects chaos of the argument
-unlike conventional love peotry which was neat
-speaker is telling the woman to break societal conventions - Perverse trinity: 3 stanzas, final 3 lines rhyme to reflect the speaker, woman and flea
What are the key language methods in The Flea?
- Conceit of the flea
- Religious imagery
- Rhetorial questions
- Semantic field of battle
- Hyperbole
Which quotes support the method of: religous imagery?
“and this our marriage bed, and marriage temple is”
“cloistered in these living walls of jet”
“And sacrilege, three sins in killing three”
Which quotes support the method of: rhetorical questions?
“Cruel and sudden… wherein could this flea guilty be/ Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?”
Which quotes support the method of: the semantic field of battle?
“triumph’st”
“weaker”
“thou yield’st to me”
Which quotes support the method of: hyperbole?
“In one flea spare/ Where we almost, yea more than married are”
“As this flea’s death took life from thee”
What literary era is The Flea from?
Metaphysical
What is the key contextual information for the Flea?
- Metaphysical poets often used strange conceits to explore serious and complex themes such as love or religion
- Expectations of women to be chaste-poem is witty and daring
- Women often objectified as prizes
- Conflict between Catholics and Protestants
What are the key themes of The Flea?
- Sexual desire
- Barriers to love
- Religion
- Carpe diem
- Seduction and persuasion
- Male power
