The Flea

'The Flea': context

Read further for the biographical and historical contexts behind the poem.

'The Flea' John Donne analysis

John Donne's poem 'The Flea' is a seductive and witty argument for sexual intimacy, using the image of a flea as a metaphor for the mingling of blood during sex. Donne's argument in the poem challenges the societal and religious taboos against sex, arguing that it is a natural and inevitable part of human relationships.

Although this poem was published posthumously in 1633, historians believe that Donne wrote this poem in the 1590s, which means he most likely would have been in his 20s. Donne studied law at Lincoln's Inn from 1591-94, which is perhaps why 'The Flea' builds an argument in the way that a lawyer would; the speaker of this particular poem makes a case for why a woman should sleep with him, which is played out for comic effect.

During his 20s, Donne spent much of his time (and inherited money) travelling and enjoying the company of young women. Fellow writer Richard Baker described Donne as 'a great visitor of Ladies'. This is reflected in the 'carpe diem' (seize the day) attitude of the poem's speaker.

Donne would later go on to become dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London in 1621 until his death in 1631 (aged 59). Although he had not committed to a religious vocation at the time he wrote 'The Flea', you can see the influence of Christianity within the poem, as he alludes to concepts such as sacrifice and the Holy Trinity.

Fig. 1 - John Donne is a metaphysical poet who uses conceits to convey intense feelings of desire and religious devotion.

'The Flea': historical context

In late 16th-17th century England, fleas were an extremely common sight. In fact, fleabites were a huge factor in the great plague (1665-1666) that would come after Donne's death. It makes sense that poets would use fleas as inspiration - though Donne does so in an original and unexpected way.

'The Flea': metaphysical poem

'The Flea,' along with much of Donne's work, is categorised as metaphysical poetry. This 17th-century movement also includes poets such as George Herbert, Andrew Marvell and Abraham Cowley.

'The Flea' is a metaphysical poem because:

• The speaker uses the elaborate conceit of a flea to represent a sexual relationship.
• There are wildly divergent images in the poem (the flea and the marriage bed)
• There is a combination of romantic love with religious faith.
• There is an argument in the form of a syllogism.

Let's take a look at these in more detail.

Metaphysical poetry is known for its use of conceits (elaborate, fanciful metaphors); the metaphysical conceit is a type of extended metaphor that makes an imaginative leap to compare two different things with each other.

Metaphysical poets, such as Donne, are known for their wit and use of wordplay, including puns. Their work often mixes humour with deep, serious topics, such as death and spirituality.

Metaphysical poetry is also noted for its use of syllogism.

One of the syllogisms in 'The Flea' is: 'our blood has mixed inside the flea, and sex is just the mixing of bodily fluids, therefore we have had sex already - it would do no harm to do it again!' Of course, Donne understood that this form of reasoning is flawed, and this is where much of the poem's comedy comes from.

'The Flea': poem

The poem is presented here in its entirety as part of the analysis of John Donne's 'The Flea'.

Fig. 2 - Donne's inspiration is the common flea. This shows that the 16th and 17th century was very much aware that fleas were the cause of diseases at the time.

'The Flea': analysis

'The Flea's structure, form, rhyme scheme, meter, and tone are summarised below.

Structure

The poem is divided into three stanzas, reflecting the significance of the number three in the poem.

This is also emphasised, as:

• The speaker in the poem suggests that he, the woman, and the flea, have combined to become one poem, i.e., 'three lives in one flea spare'.
• The speaker speaks of 'Three sins in killing three'.
• The poem's religious undertones are emphasised as the number three brings to mind the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity (God, Son and Holy Spirit) and the speaker talks of the woman committing 'three sins'.
• There are three sites of spiritual union: the flea, the marriage bed, and the marriage temple.

Rhyme scheme

Each stanza has nine lines and follows the rhyme scheme AABBCCDDD. This means that there are three rhyming couplets followed by a triplet.

Notice that the rhyming triplets at the end of each stanza are yet another recurrence of the number three, reinforcing the significance of the number to the content of the poem.

Meter

The meter alternates between iambic tetrameter and iambic pentameter. Don't worry if you don't understand these terms, they're simpler than they appear at first!

The poem's metrical feet (which are units of rhythm) are iambs.

See below for an example - note that the syllables in bold are accented, or stressed. Try reading it out loud and you should naturally hear the unstressed-stressed rhythm of the lines:

Now notice that there are four iambs in the first line:

This is an example of iambic tetrameter. This just means that a line contains four iambs.

The second line contains five iambs:

This is an example of iambic pentameter, which means that a line contains five iambs. The lines alternate between iambic tetrameter (four iambs) and iambic pentameter (five iambs).

Tone

The tone of 'The Flea' is both erotic and comic.

There is sexual imagery, particularly in the first stanza in which the speaker expresses his jealousy that the flea sucked on the woman's flesh before swelling with 'one blood made of two'. The flea swelling with blood can be seen as a phallic symbol of an erection.

The speaker's rather ridiculous reasoning as to why the woman should sleep with him is the main source of the comedy. His attempts do not seem particularly successful, and his arguments become increasingly flimsy as the poem goes on.

Speaker

The speaker of the poem is, in the classic style of metaphysical poetry, constructing elaborate arguments to get what he wants (in this case, he wants a woman to sleep with him). He is witty in his attempts, but could also be seen as manipulative.

'The Flea': poetic devices

The main poetic devices to note in 'The Flea' are conceit and enjambment.

Conceit

In metaphysical, poetry the conceit is a type of extended metaphor that makes an imaginative leap to compare two different things with each other.

Like other types of metaphor (including extended metaphor), a conceit helps us to draw a comparison between two things in a way we had not considered before. However, a conceit is different in that it takes a huge leap of imagination to see the similarities between the two things, as they are seemingly unrelated at first and bear no obvious similarities to each other.

In 'The Flea', the fleabite is a conceit that stands for a sexual relationship. The speaker tries to convince the object of his desire that being bitten by the same flea is basically the same as having sex. He then takes this one step further by suggesting that the fleabite means that they are practically married! You can see this at the beginning of the second stanza:

Here, he compares the flea, which contains the blood of the three of them (man, woman, and flea), to their 'marriage bed' and 'marriage temple' to claim that they are joined together on both physically and spiritually. To see this comparison takes a huge leap in both logic and imagination, which is why this is a conceit.

Enjambment

Donne makes use of enjambment (when one line continues into the other with no punctuation breaks) several times in the poem:

These instances of one line running into the next could be seen as the result of the speaker's desperation. There is no time to stop for pause, as he continually babbles at his would-be lover in an attempt to get what he wants. On the other hand, the enjambment can also be seen to reflect the speaker's attempt to create sexual tension between him and his would-be-lover; after the speaker says 'this cannot be said', the time taken to read the next line stresses the 'a sin' to make the words feel more charged.

'The Flea': themes

The main themes in 'The Flea' are sex and carpe diem.

Sex

Sex, and the desire for sex, is a theme that runs throughout 'The Flea'. The speaker declares to the woman that the flea 'sucked me first, and now sucks thee', before it 'swells with one blood made of two / And this, alas, is more than we would do.' The 'sucking' and 'swelling' are rather lewd allusions to sexual acts.

The speaker's desire for sex is the drive behind the entire poem.

Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem is a Latin phrase meaning 'seize the day' and it is a common sentiment in metaphysical poetry. The spirit of 'carpe diem' is focusing on the present moment as opposed to worrying about the future.

The speaker evokes this spirit by trying to convince the woman that the mingling of bodily fluids is not sinful, but something to be enjoyed. Referring to their blood mixing inside the flea, he says 'Thou know'st that this cannot be said / A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead.' By 'maidenhead', he is referring to the woman's virginity. Of course, this highlights how irrational the speaker's argument is: 'you haven't lost your virginity by letting our fluids mix in the flea, so you wouldn't lose it by mixing fluids during sex either!' This is a syllogism.

'The Flea': meaning

The speaker forms an elaborate argument, alluding to broad existential topics such as spirituality, sin, death, and the nature of sexuality. But, ultimately, he just wants the woman to sleep with him and will say anything to convince her.

You could see the poem as a display of wit; Donne uses the speaker's ridiculous arguments to comic effect. You could also read this poem as an expression of carnal desire, maybe even a commentary on the way we dress up our 'sinful' base instincts (such as sexuality) in religious meaning in order to justify or rationalise them.