The Flea By John Donne: Poem Analysis

Fear can be immobilizing. While some fears are irrational such as the fear of heights or stairs, some fears that manifest are not so irrational. The fear of persecution is one of the latter. From the birth of our human existence to present day persecution has existed. Some are persecuted because of the color, some because of their lack of social station, but what we, as humans, truly thrive on for our source of persecution is religion. People have massacred for it for and later been massacred themselves in the name of religion. These were all very real feelings in the Restoration period. Although these fears, debilitating as they may be, cripple some, others rise above the shadow of their fear to assemble great and wondrous creations. This

As readers, what we learn from Donne is that we should embrace our differences, rise above the hatred, and live our lives full of compassion, empathy, and hope. Upon reading this poem, I revel in his youthful aspirations and laugh at his ridiculously outlandish attempts. This piece, in particular, shows the happy, softer side of Donne. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Flea. It inspired images of two swordfighters engaged in combat, the fancy footwork from said swordfight, and the point and counter-point of each blow of the sword as it hits the other fighter. Even though the lady never actually speaks, I sense she is just as witty and humorous as the speaker himself. She starts on the moral high ground, much higher ground than the speaker, stands for her beliefs, and, hopefully in the end, she does not give into his ridiculous attempts to woo her. That being said, the lady both intrigues and delights the reader at the same time. As the reader, you want to know who the woman is, is she of higher social rank than the speaker, and in what environment does this exciting and illicit conversation take place. One can almost hear her soft yet, respectful sighs of indifference and see the look of utter hopelessness on her face as she politely listens and responds to the speaker. In some ways, because of her steadfastness she becomes the heroine of the