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The Flea - John Donne



Mark but this flea, and mark in this,  
How little that which thou deniest me is;  
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;  
Thou know’st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead,
    Yet this enjoys before it woo,
    And pampered swells with one blood made of two,
    And this, alas, is more than we would do.

Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, nay more than married are.  
This flea is you and I, and this
Our mariage bed, and marriage temple is;  
Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met,  
And cloistered in these living walls of jet.
    Though use make you apt to kill me,
    Let not to that, self-murder added be,
    And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.

Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence?  
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?  
Yet thou triumph’st, and say'st that thou  
Find’st not thy self, nor me the weaker now;
    ’Tis true; then learn how false, fears be:
    Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me,
    Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.

The Flea by John Donne is an ideal example of the metaphysical poetry. This poem deals with the theme of love. The Image which the poet employs is taken from the field of Biology. The flea is a small insect which sucks blood from human body. This insect is used here as a theme for the expression of love.

The poem is addressed by the lover to his beloved. The poet tries to request his ladylove not to reject his proposal. The lover goes on proposing and every time it is rejected by the lady. The lover mentions that both have become one in the form of that flea. The flea first sucked his blood and then her blood. In this manner both have become one. The lover tries to convince her saying that whatever denied by her has already happened in that flea. The lover considers the mingling of their blood as their marriage. More than marriage that flea is their marriage bed and also their temple.

Such an explanation of the lover tempts her to kill that flea, but the lover requests her not to kill that flea. If she kills it, it would be killing of three lives; the life of flea, his life and her life. It would be a big sin for her. The lover knows that she is always willing to kill him but why should she kill herself? He tries to make her aware of the fact that self-murder is a big sin.
The lady does not follow his request and kills that flea, making the colour of her nail purple. The lover admits that the flea was guilty because of his guilty blood. Only her portion of the blood was not guilty. The lady believes that she has not become weaker even when two bloods became one in the flea. The lover once again requests to accept this as an example that all her fears are false. The lover is of the opinion that if she accepts his love, it would bring honour to her. Falling in love is not a sin or act of shame. On the contrary it brings honour to a person.

The present poem can be considered an experiment made by John Donne because a poet hardly uses a biological image to deal with the theme of love. John Donne has done in this poem and he remains successful.

Reference –

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