the flea :: essays research papers

WzDDs HSC Info 2Unit Related English John DonneThe FleaMarke but this flea, and marke in this, How little that which thou denyst me is Me it suckd first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea our two bloods mingled bee Confesse it, this cannot be said A sinne, or shame, or losse of maidenhead, until now this enjoyes before it wooe, And pamperd swells with one blood made of two, And this, alas, is more than wee would doe.Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare, When we almost, nay more than maryed are. This flea is you and I, and this Our marriage buttocks, and marriage temple is Though parents grudge, and you, ware met, And cloysterd in these biography walls of run. Though use make thee apt to kill me, allow not to this, selfe murder added bee, And sacrilege, three sinnes in killing three.Cruell and sodaine, has thou since Purpled thy naile, in blood of innocence? In what could this flea guilty bee, Except in that drop which it suckt from thee? Yet thou triumphst, and saist that thou Findst not thyself, nor mee the weaker now Tis true, then learne how false, feares bee Just so much honor, when thou yeeldst to mee, Will wast, as this fleas death tooke life from thee.GlossaryJet - a deep, glossy black stone. This is of course a reference to the colour of a flea, and is especially strong imagery when one compares the lifeless stone with the "living walls".Sodaine - violent.Overall explanationMy copy of the poem notes that "Fleas were a popular subject for jocosehumorous and amatorylove poetry in all countries at the Renaissance". Their popularity stems from an event that happened in a literary salon (a place where poets and others came to recite poetry and converse). The salon was run by two ladies, and on on occassion a flea happened to land upon one ladys breast. The poets were stunned at the creatures audacity, and were inspired to write poetry about the beast. It soon became fashionable among poets to write poems about fleas.In this poem, the "I" of the poem is lying in bed with his lover, and trying to get her to give her virginity to him. (It could, of course, quite easily be a FEMALE "I" trying to seduce a MALE, but I volition stick with one for convenience). While lying there, he notices a flea, which has obviously bitten them both.