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Critical analysis of poem The Flea by John Done
John donne the flea analysis
John donne the flea analysis
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Persuasion In John Donne's The Flea
217 Words1 Page
Recommended: Critical analysis of poem The Flea by John Done
The poem lacks the sense of persuasion in contrast to "The Flea". Even that the poem is a love poem but there is no persuasion, as Donne had already achieve what he wants, which is the love of his beloved one. Donne starts the opening line with a rhetorical question, a strong one. This is shown by the use of "my troth" which is a kind of promise, to grab his lover's attention to emphasis on the fact of their unity. Then he used a religious figure which is Adam in Eve while they were in Eden when they still had their innocence. That is just the same to what Donne is referring to; he is referring to their innocence before they lost it. He then uses Plato's theory of the "Seven Sleeper's den", as if their "marriage temple" is their den
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The Writings of John Donne
1199 Words | 3 PagesDonne's reversal of that introversion came in the form of an intellectual exploration of the nature of his relationships themselves. His verses often point out the selfishness inherent to new love, as in "The Good-Morrow." In this poem, Donne's focus is on the exploration of the new world, which he then twists around to imply that his entire world is formed between his mistress and himself. "[Love] makes one room an everywhere." (l. 10) His poetic conceit (conception) is an explication of the emotional conceit (vanity) underlying love. A clearer example of the universalization of love is seen in "The Sun Rising" with the lines "She is all states, and all princes I,/Nothing else is." (ll. 21-22) With the equal weight of both his mistress and Donne's part, we see a much more balan...
Explication of John Donne's The Flea
406 Words | 1 PagesJohn Donne's, "The Flea," is a persuasive poem in which the speaker is attempting to establish a sexual union with his significant other. However, based on the woman's rejection, the speaker twists his argument, making that which he requests seem insignificant. John Donne brings out and shapes this meaning through his collaborative use of conceit, rhythm, and rhyme scheme. In the beginning, Donne uses the flea as a conceit, to represent a sexual union with his significant other. For instance, in the first stanza a flea bites the speaker and woman. He responds to this incident by saying, "And in this flea our bloods mingled be."
Vulnerability in the Works of John Donne
2695 Words | 6 PagesThe speaker in Donne's poetry is a theatrical character, constantly in different situations, and using different roles to suit the action. He can take on the role of the womanizer, as in "The Indifferent," or the faithful lover from "Lover's Infiniteness," but the speaker in each of these poems is always John Donne himself. Each poem contains a strong sense of Donne's own self-interest. According to Professor J. Crofts, Donne:
Analysis of Flea by John Donne
426 Words | 1 PagesThe narrator in The Flea is a youthful man trying to convince a young woman to give her virginity to him. He tries to do this by comparing their relationship to a flea that is in the room. The flea bites them both and Donne explains to her that this is symbolic of both of their worlds combining into one. He says that the flea is now the realm of love, lust, and marriage. At first this poem seems to be just about love, commitment from a male to a female, who says no his lustful desires. However, a deeper look than just the superficial reveals that the male in this poem is actually revealing a valid point to his lady: that the loss of innocence, such as her virginity, does not constitute a loss of her honor.
The Persuasive Tone of The Flea
769 Words | 2 PagesFirst of all, the situation created by Donne is remarkable. Although there is only one speaker in "The Flea," the poem itself reveals a profound interaction between speaker and audience. Here is an example: "Mark but this flea, and mark in this," (line 1) and "Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare," (line 10). In line one, the poet asked his coy mistress to notice a flea and explain that the flea symbolized the combination of their love. Whereas, when the poem goes on to the first line of the second stanza, the lady ignores Donne's enthusiasm by intending to slay the flea. From the two lines, it shows the female's emotional reaction to Donne's persuasion, which provokes his urge by applying poetic device in the poem.
Analysis of John Donne's Poem, The Flea
1411 Words | 3 PagesJohn Donne’s poems are similar in their content. They usually point out at same topics like love, lust, sex and religion; only they are dissimilar in the feelings they express. These subjects reflect the different stages of his life: the lust of his youth, the love of his married middle age, and the piety of the latter part of his life. His poem,’ The Flea’ represents the restless feeling of lust during his youthful days but it comes together with a true respect for women through the metaphysical conceit of the flea as a church in the rhythm of the sexual act.
Explication of John Donne's The Flea
1079 Words | 3 PagesThis poem showed the pure genius of John Donne. It is intriguing to look at, especially for the religious imagery and form. His analogy of killing a flea and having sex, allow him to simplify his argument, which makes this a work of genius. His word choice, form, and rhythm all coincided with his major theme. I cannot help but to find this poem hilarious, flirtatious, and less serious than his other works because love, lust, marriage, and conceiving children is nowhere in comparison to a flea or killing one. I think Donne knew this, but through his wit he managed to make the correlation.
The Flea and The Sun Rising
1643 Words | 4 PagesThe two poems The Flea and The Sunne Rising capture John Donne’s primary motive to get in bed with women. Donne wrote these poems at an early age, and at that time he was seeking nothing more than a sexual relationship. His poetry depicted clearly how sexist he was at the time and how he used to perceive women as a medium of pleasure. The content of his early poems express an immature and desperate image of Donne, who is dominated by his fixation on the sensuality of women. In The Flea, Donne shows his desperation to have sex by addressing a flea that has sucked the blood of both him and the woman he is persuading. It is quite awkward how the poet uses this obscure image of the flea as a symbol of love and sex to convince the woman that...
Poetic Techniques in John Donne's The Dream
634 Words | 2 PagesThe first stanza shows a wide range of fantastical language with the intention of drawing the reader slowly and steadily into the hazy, dreamlike setting. Along with the words like ?fantasy?, ?fables? and ?dreams? come affectionate phrases that effectively show us that the poem is meant to be addressed to a lover, ?Dear love? being the most obvious example. Later on in the poem, the language shifts from drowsy and steady to more intense and complicated, yet less passionate and more doubtful. Donne?s choice in the last stanza to utilize fiery words like ?torches? and phrases ?light and put out? and ?thou cam?st to kindle? depict a sense of overwhelming passion, as uncontrollable as fire. Donne doubts that he can control his lover to continue loving him as fervently as in his dream, which is why his dream lover is ?an angel? while his lover in reality is compared to fire.
Compare the ways in which Donne presents the experience of love in ‘The Sun Rising’ and ‘The Good Morrow’
1602 Words | 4 Pages...ne exclusively on himself and his lover. By doing so he says the sun will be shining on the entire world. It is apparent in both poems the tone and language is dramatic, as this is typical of Donne’s writing style. His use of imagery and symbolism effectively present his experience of love. However it is the structure that builds up the emotion throughout the poems as Donne starts in each poem to refer to a seductive love, then in conclusion realises the importance of true love. ‘The Good Morrow’ clearly shows evidence of this when at the beginning Donne states he ‘suck’d on country pleasures childishly’ and in the end understands that a ‘Love so alike that none can slacken, none can die’.
The Theme Of Physical Love In John Donne's The Flea
1026 Words | 3 PagesDonne develops this idea through the symbolism of the flea and the twisted imagery of the Trinity. He uses slant rhyme to depict the man’s slanted argument and stretched logic, which highlight the man’s crooked idea of what physical love is. Donne’s use of slant rhyme and hyperbole mock other poems that praise women with flowery language in an attempt to charm them into bed. In contrast, the speaker here uses crude arguments meant to woo this woman to sex with him.Renaissance carpe diem poems speak about enjoying physical love within one’s short-lived youth. “The Flea” touches on fleeting love too; the body with the blood of life and love may soon be squished. However, there are consequences which always entail physical love. These consequences might be the real
Use of Conceit in The Flea, by John Donne
1046 Words | 3 PagesJohn Donne, an English poet and clergyman, was one of the greatest metaphysical poets. His poetry was marked by conceits and lush imagery. The Flea is an excellent example of how he was able to establish a parallel between two very different things. In this poem, the speaker tries to seduce a young woman by comparing the consequences of their lovemaking with those of an insignificant fleabite. He uses the flea as an argument to illustrate that the physical relationship he desires is not in itself a significant event, because a similar union has already taken place within the flea. However, if we look beneath the surface level of the poem, Donne uses the presence of the flea as a comparison to the presence of a baby, thus making the sub textual plot about aborting the baby.
Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God Tone
710 Words | 2 PagesAlthough Donne employs iambic meter, where a stressed syllable follows an unstressed syllable, the first line opens with a bang by starting with a heavily stressed first syllable. The use of sonnet form immediately stands out as an another curious aspect of the poem. Poets traditionally wrote sonnets to express one's love for a woman, but in this poem Donne addresses God as his lover. Sonnets also usually changed subject or tone in the ninth line, and here Donne uses this tactic to surprise the reader. In lines seven and eight, Donne describes how he has wondered from God, but in the ninth line he reveals that "Yet dearly I love you" (9). From this point on, John speaks in a more personal tone to God and makes specific requests and pleas. The many poetic devices make the poem flow well and effectively complement its deep
Metaphysical Poetry in The Seventeenth Century
885 Words | 2 PagesIn the first stanza of the poem, Donne tries to convince his lover to have sexual intercourse with him. At first one would not realize that this is his intention because he uses a flea to describe sex which is a very far-fetched description of the act hence this poem being metaphysical. Using a conceit he belittles the impact of sex and the power it has over him even though it may be untrue. Knowing that she has thought about it before, he assures her that by withholding sex from him is something so small that it does not give her power in the relationship.
Metaphysical Poetry In John Donne's The Flea
1269 Words | 3 PagesDespite the speaker’s best attempt at convincing the woman to have sexual relations with him through his metaphor of the flea, he would appear to be unsuccessful at the end of the poem. His far-fetched and cynical approach belittles both the woman’s virginity and sexual relations outside of marriage in general, and only highlight his lust for her. However, the poem’s metaphysical characteristics which include the primary use of a conceit through the flea, hyperbole, ironic wit to balance the plot between a serious and humorous nature, and an argumentative structure, allow Donne to create a satirical narrative to address the subject of sexual relations outside of marriage.
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