Saturday 18 March 2017

The Flea

The Flea
By: john Donne

Analysis and Symbolism
Donne's poem has been often referenced in literature as a metaphor for sex; in fact, the flea bite has been compared to the vampire bite and has served as a reference point for the reading of vampirism as symbolic of sexual intercourse in vampire literature and pop culture, ranging from classic tales like Dracula to True Blood and Twilight.
The speaker uses the bite that he and the woman have received to justify their being joined together: 'It sucked me first, and now sucks thee, and in this flea our two bloods mingled be.' Insects are often carriers of disease, and in literature, sexual promiscuity is sometimes referred to as a disease, not just of the body, but of the spirit. However, in the poem's opening lines, the speaker tries to make a case against this argument: 'Mark but this flea, and mark in this how little that which thou deniest me is.' In the grand scheme of things, asking her for one night with him is a trivial thing.
Our nameless heroine isn't fooled though, apparently, so the speaker tries another line of thought: 'This flea is you and I, and this our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.' Here is where the mingling of blood as sexual metaphor becomes more apparent; the joining of two lives in the mingling of blood unites the pair irreversibly, much like the giving of one's virginity. On the one hand, Donne seems to make a mockery of sexual propriety, dismissing it as trivial; on the other, he points to the intimate connection that results from such a physical exchange. In being thus joined, the speaker argues, they might as well be married, so it would be wise for them to stay together.


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