FREE Parasites And Pick-Up Lines; Sophistry In John Donnes (original) (raw)

Sophistry in John Donnes' "The Flea-.
Rejoice! For at long last, that humblest and most useless of insects, the bloodsucking flea, has found its' purpose in life through poetry. John Donnes' "The Flea- demonstrates that former presidents and politicians are not the only men who manipulate language to suit their own ends. Indeed, the use of sophistry as a tool of seduction is an ancient art, and Donne, through his speaker in this piece, uses it more than any other poet in this section.
"The Flea- is more than a run of the mill love poem. It is an ingeniously clever, if not downright devious attempt to woo a lady of high station into bed. In the piece, a young suitor is trying, in vain, to wangle a romp in the sheets from his ladylove. He is struck with inspiration when a flea, out for a late night snack, bites him, then bounds away to take a nibble from the object of his pursuit. He points out that their blood is now mingled in the flea, and no sin has occurred, has it? Taking his specious arguments even farther, the amorous youth tries to convince his skeptical love that climbing into bed together would only be an extension of what has already occurred, and no dishonor could possibly result.
As the next stanza unfolds, Donnes' speaker climbs to new heights of casuistic creativity. The hapless flea becomes a symbol of married union, and their mixed blood a symbol of the child that could result. The chamber the where the tete -tete occurs magically transforms into wedding chapel and honeymoon suite, in one convenient package. As the doubtful lady seemingly contemplates killing the flea, and with it symbolically squashing the notion of giving the speaker satisfaction, he begs her not to kill the creature. In doing so, he claims, she would not only be committing (not unjustified) murder, but also suicide, as the flea carries her blood, but also (dare I say it) Sacrilege!, that all encompassing seventeenth century term for anything a man says a woman should not do.

1. The Flea

In the poem, The Flea, John Donne demonstrates grief, shame, anxiety and pain with the touch of his pen. ... In the following lines, John Donne continues his painful journey to a devastating abortion. ... In the next lines, John Donne, again, goes down to his knees in unimaginable sorrow. ... In the next lines, John Donne clarifies the woman's act of wrongfulness. ... In the last paragraph lines, John Donne finishes his poem, by saying; "Except in that drop which it sucked from three? ...

2. Donne's "Flea"

Wit and Religious Imagery in "The Flea" In his funny little poem "The Flea," John Donne merges wit with religious imagery in an attempt to convince a woman to sleep with him. In the first stanza Donne cleverly uses the humorous image of an insignificant flea that has just sucked the blood of both Donne and his intended lover as he tries to convince his beloved that the mingling of bodily fluids during intercourse would be just as innocent as their blood mingling inside the body of the flea. ... In the second stanza Donne supports his argument and attempts to stop his beloved from killing t...

3. John Donne And Metaphors

John Donne turns this tool into an art form in his poetry as he weaves absurd relationships between two or more seemingly unrelated ideas. ... One good example of Donne's use of absurd metaphors is in the poem entitled "The Flea". ... In lines 1 and 2 Donne begins by telling the female how unimportant her virginity is. ... In lines 12-13 three more metaphors are stated as the flea is compared to "you and I", "our marriage bed", and "marriage temple". ... Donne goes on to plead the flea's case as he continues to use metaphors to show how terrible it would be if the flea died. ...

4. The Flea

The Flea by John Donne The Flea by John Donne is a poem of sadistic seduction. ... He says that by killing the flea, she has killed them both since their blood was within the flea. ... He refers to "this flea is you and I, and this our marriage bed and marriage temple" (945) in lines 12-13. ... The flea is even referred to as their world. ... It is also ironic that it was acceptable for John Donne to write this kind of poem when he usually wrote religious poems. ...

5. The Flea

The Flea by John Donne The Flea by John Donne is a poem of sadistic seduction. ... He says that by killing the flea, she has killed them both since their blood was within the flea. ... He refers to "this flea is you and I, and this our marriage bed and marriage temple" (945) in lines 12-13. ... The flea is even referred to as their world. ... It is also ironic that it was acceptable for John Donne to write this kind of poem when he usually wrote religious poems. ...

6. Wit and Religious Imagery in John Donne's

Wit and Religious Imagery in "The Flea" In his funny little poem "The Flea," John Donne merges wit with religious imagery in an attempt to convince a woman to sleep with him. In the first stanza Donne cleverly uses the humorous image of an insignificant flea that has just sucked the blood of both Donne and his intended lover as he tries to convince his beloved that the mingling of bodily fluids during intercourse would be just as innocent as their blood mingling inside the body of the flea. ... In the second stanza Donne supports his argument and attempts to stop his beloved from killing ...

7. Interpretation of John Donne's

METAPHYSICAL CONCEITS IN DONNE"S "THE RELIC" In most, if not all, of his works, John Donne uses the concept of "metaphysical conceits" to extensively compare one thing to another. ... Donne typically uses the title of each of his works as a vehicle by which this conceit is portrayed (i.e., "The Flea") and thus creates a sort of double meaning for it. ... Donne uses this word to describe he and his lover after they are deceased. ... Donne also uses this definition of "relic" in the final two lines of the poem: "All measure, and all language, I should pass, Should I tell what a miracle she w...

8. John Donne's "The Flea"

Much of the imagery in John Donne's poem "The Flea" is transcendent imagery which is used to illustrate an argument. ... The flea has sucked the blood of both the narrator and his girlfriend and now "in this flea, [their] two bloods mingled be." ... The girlfriend is still not persuaded and is about to kill the flea when the narrator presents one last argument as to why the flea should be spared. ... These lines suggest that the narrator is now using the flea to symbolize three separate entities. Since both his blood and the blood of his girlfriend are in the flea, he compares killin...

9. The Flea

John Donne uses a flea, blood, and the murder of the flea as cunning metaphors for the most established ancient ritual, intercourse. Through the use of symbolic images Donne is not only analyzing the power of virginity but also the significance of premarital sex and intercourse as it exists in life. ... Here Donne expresses the fact that by squashing the flea she is spreading the speaker's blood and hers as well, basically carrying out the act of murder. ... The speaker has been pleading for the flea's life explaining that the flea is symbolic to their marriage because of their uni...

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question