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The Flea: Summary & Questions and Answers | John Donne | Major English Class 11
The Flea by John Donne
DETAILED SUMMARY
The Flea by John Donne
This poem "The Flea" is a metaphysical love poem that was composed by an English poet, John Donne. This poem has been composed in quite erotic, humorous narrative form. The major themes that we find here in this poem are love, sex, and seduction. These themes have been created using the conceit of an insect flea. The speaker of the poem tries to convince a lady to sleep with him, arguing that if their blood mingling in the flea is innocent, their sexual mingling would also be innocent. There are altogether three different stanzas in this poem. The rhyme scheme of this poem is AABBCCDDD.
In the very first stanza, the speaker is telling his beloved to look at the flea before them and to note "how little" that thing is that she denies him for. Here, the speaker is comparing his demand for intercourse with a little feces. The speaker is upset by his beloved's denial and wants to persuade him by saying that sex is a minor thing like a flea. He talks about the flea, saying that it has sucked his blood first, then her blood, so that now, inside the flea, they are mingled, and that mingling cannot be called "sin, shame, or loss of maidenhead." Here, the speaker is talking to his beloved about their blood inside the flea. Their blood has even now mingled inside the flea. He tries to convince his beloved that the relationship he wants to establish with her will never be considered a matter of sin, shame, or loss of virginity.
According to the speaker, the flea is swollen with their mixed blood. It has joined them together in such a way that it is more than his desire to love her in reality. Here, we find the speaker emphasising that their relationship has moved beyond his desires for intercourse.
When the speaker notices his beloved moving ahead to kill the flea, he stays by her hand. He asks her to spare the three lives inside the flea. For example, his life, her life, and the flea's life. He says that their mingled blood inside the flea means they are more than the married couple, and the flea is their marriage bed and marriage temple.
He convinces her that, due to their parents' grudges, they are unable to meet and romance. In this way, they are nevertheless united and cloistered in the living walls of the flea.
Here, he blames his beloved when she tries to kill the flea. According to him, by killing the flea, she is murdering three lives. It's suicide because she is effectively killing herself inside the flea. And it's sacrilege because they are married inside the flea. He calls his beloved cruel and sudden, who has killed the flea with her nail.
Her fingernail is now purple with the blood of an innocent flea. He asks about the guilt of an innocent flea that has been killed just for sucking a drop of blood from her. After killing the flea, his beloved replies that by killing the flea, no one of them has become weaker, and nothing has been lost. So, there is no reason to have sex between them. The speaker uses his logic, saying that if she doesn't have a sense of fear and loss of honour after killing the flea, there won't be any loss of dignity if they make love. Their union would not harm her reputation.
SHORT SUMMARY
The Flea by John Donne
This poem is a fine example of a metaphysical conceit that was composed by the renowned English poet John Donne. Here, the speaker of the poem is a young lover who has intense sensual feelings for his beloved. He has presented an insect flea metaphorically to represent the fine concept of his love and desire. He persuades his beloved about his tiny desire, like a flea. He informs them about their mingled blood inside the flea, which is more than their physical contact. According to him, his desire is a minor one that cannot lead her towards shame, sin, or loss of virginity. He tells her about their mixed blood inside the flea as their marriage bed and their relationship as more than marriage. He stops her from killing the flee, saying that it is a kind of self-murder and the sin of killing three lives. He becomes quite upset to find his beloved killing an innocent flea with her fingernail. Her fingernail becomes purple with its blood. Finally, the speaker says that she has no fear of her sin and no loss of honour after killing the flea. Similarly, their physical relationship won't harm her or make her feel a loss of dignity. Their union won't harm her reputation.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The Flea by John Donne
1. How does the flea make the connection between the speaker and his beloved?
Answer:
The flea makes the connection between the speaker and his beloved by sucking and mingling their blood. It mingles their blood into one. It makes their blood unite inside their bodies.
2. Discuss the pun in the phrase 'Our two bloods mingled be'.
Answer:
A pun is a figure of speech that creates humour through the use of words. The phrase "Our two bloods mingled" in line number four suggests humour through its meaning of intercourse. Here, the mixing of blood is compared with the mingling of body fluids between a lover and the beloved during sex. This concept of mingling blood with sexual comparison has created a pun in the poem.
3. Why does the speaker ask his beloved not to kill the flea?
Answer:
The speaker asks his beloved not to kill the flea because he doesn't want his beloved to kill the three lives. According to him, killing an innocent flea means killing three lives. For example, his life, his beloved's life, and Flea's life.
4. Is the tone of the poem ironic, dramatic, amusing or all of these?
Answer:
Yes, the tone of the poem is a dramatic one. Here, we find the speaker's persuasive style in a very dramatic way to convince his beloved of his sensual demand's fulfilment. The speaker has used conceit to express his various feelings for his beloved.
5. What seems to be the speaker's purpose in the poem?
Answer:
The speaker's purpose in the poem seems to be a kind of persuasion to his beloved for his demand's (intercourse) fulfilment. He wants to establish a physical relationship with his beloved, which is why he is persuading her in a very dramatic way.
1. Discuss The Flea as a love poem.
Answer:
The Flea' is a fine metaphysical poem about the love and desire of an erotic lover. The poem has put forward the perfect concept of love by using an insect flea. From the beginning to the end of the poem, we find various persuasive opinions of the speaker that are related to his deep sensual desires for his beloved. This poem is a kind of request for the speaker's desired fulfilment. He keeps on persuading his beloved about the lovemaking process through physical contact. He wants to establish a physical relationship with his beloved. The entire poem seems to be a dramatic one, but it reveals the intense love feelings of the speaker for his beloved.
1. Discuss the appropriateness of the title of the poem.
Answer:
I think the title of the poem "The Flea" is quite appropriate, which metaphorically presents the intense love desire of the speaker for his beloved. This poem has been presented using various persuasive ideas of the speaker through the use of a blood-sucking insect flea. The title of this poem has been used as the main topic of discussion, which has metaphorically revealed the real concept of the speaker's love and his desires. This title has provided the readers with various meanings that are beyond their expectations.
2. Discuss the metaphorical meaning of the poem.
Answer:
A metaphor is a figure of speech that is used to show a comparison between two things that aren't alike but do have something in common. This poem has provided us with metaphorical meaning that is related to the speaker's intense feeling of love for his beloved. Here, we learn about an insect flea that has been metaphorically presented as a representative of sex. It has been compared metaphorically with the physical intimacy of the speaker.
The poet has used "flea" as an extended metaphor to present his desire to have intimacy with his beloved. Their blood inside the flea has been metaphorically compared with sex relationships and marriage. The inner body of the flea has been compared with the marriage bed and marriage temple. The speaker compares Flea to himself and his beloved. The killing of the particular flea is compared with the killing of three lives. His beloved's cruel acts are compared to no sense of fear or loss of honour, which gives meaning to the relationship of sex without fear or loss of honour. Thus, the poem has given metaphoric meaning to their relationship.
1. Write an essay on Love and Marriage.
Answer:
Love and marriage are concepts of relationships that refer to the bonds of different lives. These two relationships are related to hearts' connections, where heartfelt feelings play very vital roles. Both concepts create a sense of togetherness among people. The concept of love makes people lovable. Due to this concept, people are living in harmony in this world. It has helped people feel better about each other. Love can lead anyone towards perfection. In the present time, most people believe in the concept of love. Love can determine anyone's future. The lifelong relationship of marriage also seems strong if there is a perfect concept of love. Love is a kind of positive feeling that people feel for each other.
The concept of marriage is a process that refers to the unity between two people. In this process, two people get together to start a new part of their lives. Marriage is regarded as an auspicious relationship that establishes two people's relationships. Marriages are connected with people's cultures, traditions, rituals, norms, and values. The process of marriage is very well organised and celebrated. This relationship determines people's future, duties, and responsibilities. In this relationship, love always plays a very important role. Without love, nothing is imagined here in this world.
2. What is a metaphysical poem? How do you take The Flea' as an example of the metaphysical poem?
Answer:
A metaphysical poem is a poem that is highly intellectualised, uses original conceits, strange imagery, frequents paradoxes, and contains extremely complicated thoughts.
Metaphysical is a philosophical concept used in literature to describe things that are beyond the description of physical existence.
In the poem The Flea, John Donne uses a metaphysical conceit for a simple flea. He has presented the flea using extended metaphors to present his relationship with his beloved. This poem is an example of a metaphysical poem because it is highly intellectualised, with the use of original conceits, strange imagery, frequent paradoxes, and extremely complicated thoughts. These ideas are too complex to grasp the meaning of the poem.
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