John Donnes The Flea Poetry Analysis - 786 Words

Report Card: 1. The Flea (1633) 2. John Donne (1572-1631) 3. The flea is the main metaphor/character in the poem, symbolizing the union between the man and the woman, the other two subjects of the poem, who are inferior to the power that the flea holds upon them and their union, whether intimate or otherwise. 4. The man and the woman (i.e. the writer and the woman courted) are secondary characters in this poem and, as mentioned above, are influenced by the flea, which is the main symbol of Donnes work, a metaphor for intimacy. 5. The setting is intimate; whether it is or is not a bedroom is questionable, though the author does mention a bed. 6. The person speaking in the poem is the man, or the author, as this poem is told in first person. 7. The poem begins with the description of a flea, which bit both the narrator and the woman to whom he speaks. Because of this flea, according to the subsequent lines, the two bloods of these individuals are mixed. Despite the bite, however, the author assure that whom he courts that her innocence would not be lost (nor loss of maidenhead), and that if they were to engage in any sort of intimacy, their acts would be more innocent than the fleas bit. In the subsequent stanza, the author speaks of marriage and an eventual union (marriage bed, marriage temple), though again, in the context of encouraging intimacy rather than courting for marriage. He also tells the woman that if she will not give into his requests sheShow MoreRelatedThe Flea By John Donne1558 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"The Flea† Essay â€Å"The Flea† by John Donne when looked at briefly is simply a poem about a man trying to seduce a woman into participating in pre-material sexual relationship with him. However, â€Å"The Flea† constructs many more important arguments than simply that one. The poem touches on religion, love, and sex in a non-romanticized way, contrasting the normal glamorized stance seen in most of poetry. Most of John Donne’s poems have either romantic themes or religious themes; â€Å"The Flea† has both. ItRead MoreTHE MAIN FEATURES OF THE METAPHYSICAL POETRY ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN DONNE1637 Words   |  7 Pages THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE METAPHYSICAL POETRY ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN DONNE The term metaphysical poetry is used to describe a certain type of 17th century poetry. Metaphysical poetry is concerned with the whole experience of man. It means that the poetry is about showing knowledge and thoughts from different areas of experience, especially about love, romantic and sensual; about mans relationship with God and about pleasure, learning and art. Read More A Structural and Vocabulary Analysis of John Donnes The Flea1267 Words   |  6 PagesA Structural and Vocabulary Analysis of John Donnes The Flea In his poem The Flea, John Donne shows his mastery in creating a work in which the form and the vocabulary have deliberately overlapping significance. The poem can be analyzed for the prominence of threes that form layers of multiple meanings within its three stanzas. In each of the three stanzas, key words can be examined to show (through the use of the OED) how Donne brilliantly chose them because of the various connotationsRead More Social Context in the Poetry of John Donne Essay example1671 Words   |  7 PagesSocial Context in the Poetry of John Donne Contemporary literary theory has thoroughly debunked the traditional view of the artist as a divinely inspired, completely original and creative individual. This view has been replaced with the more apt view of the author as a product of his or her environment and the existing discourses of the society in which he or she lives. In this new attitude toward the writer as a product of society, the author is considered, according to Dr. James E. PorterRead MoreJohn Donne And Cecile Day Lewis1088 Words   |  5 Pagesexperiences love or how a poet chooses to express those experiences. It is mainly the poet’s era and life experiences that dictate how he/she represents love. Thomas Wyatt, John Donne and Cecile Day Lewis are good examples of how life experiences can determine the poets’ divergence of traditional courtly and pastoral love. An abreast analysis of the above poets’ lives and their works allow us to draw parallels between their life experiences and their subversions of conventions of love. Thomas Wyatt’s subversionRead MoreA Brief Description of the Concept of Courtly Love1200 Words   |  5 Pagespart plays its role in the scenario. Nevertheless, I will keep Capellanus’ definition for the later analysis of the poetry of John Donne in order to clarify which aspects of courtly love may be represented in his verse. John Donne has largely been considered by scholars to be the most original of the metaphysical poets from the seventeenth century. â€Å"He [Donne] affects the metaphysics†, says the poet John Dryden, â€Å"not only in his satires, but in his amorous verses, where nature only should reign; andRead MoreJohn Donne : A Medieval Man But A Metaphysical Poet2279 Words   |  10 PagesRobyn Leatherwood ENGL 3313 Dr. Speller Dec 3, 2014 John Donne: A Medieval Man but A Metaphysical Poet When examining writings from the Baroque period, John Donne is widely acknowledged as the leader of metaphysical poetry. While there are other well-known writers who made this style of poetry popular, Donne is by far the most discussed and most analyzed. The term metaphysical developed from John Dryden describing Donne’s work as â€Å"[affecting] the metaphysics, not only in his satires, but in hisRead Morethatcher4803 Words   |  20 Pagesfeel the fell of dark†¦Ã¢â‚¬  2. William Shakespeare, Sonnets 1-7 3. John Donne, â€Å"Valediction Forbidding Mourning†, â€Å"The Flea†, â€Å"Hymn to God, My God in my Sickness† 4. George Herbert, â€Å"The Collar†, â€Å"The Altar†, â€Å"Love III† 5. Andrew Marvell, â€Å"To his Coy Mistress† 6. T.S. Eliot, â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock†, â€Å"Journey of the Magi† 2. Poems for individual reading: 1. William Shakespeare Sonnet 73 (â€Å"That time of year†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) 2. John Donne, â€Å"Holy Sonnet I† (â€Å"Thou hast made me†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ), â€Å"Holy Sonnet IX†Read MoreThe s Coy Mistress By Andrew Marvell And The Flea1919 Words   |  8 PagesThe representation of sexual pleasure and intercourse throughout â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† by Andrew Marvell and â€Å"The Flea† by John Donne functions as a way to present, confirm and refute the traditional stereotypical view of carpe diem love poetry. The speakers within both poems aim to â€Å"seize the day† by wooing and taking advantage of women and their virginity and sexuality. They not only want to take advantage of the time they have but also make sure they do not regret not doing anything in the future