John Donne (1572-1631) was a renowned English poet who belongs to the late Renaissance period and is best known for his distinctive metaphysical poetry. His works are characterized by their complex and intellectually stimulating exploration of themes such as love, religion, death, and human relationships. Donne’s poetry often employs unconventional imagery and metaphors to convey his ideas, making his work both intellectually challenging and emotionally engaging.
“The Flea” is one of Donne’s most famous and provocative poems. It is a prime example of metaphysical poetry, a genre that flourished in the 17th century.
These lines are from the poem “The Flea” by John Donne. In this poem, the speaker uses the image of a flea to make an argument to his lover about the physical and sexual union they should share. Let’s discuss the first two lines in the context of the poem:
“Marke but this flea, and marke in this,
How little that which thou deny’st me is;”
In these lines, the speaker asks his lover to closely examine the flea. He’s drawing attention to the tiny insect that has just bitten both of them. He’s essentially saying, “Look at this flea, and consider how insignificant the thing you’re denying me is.” The speaker is trying to convince his lover that refusing to engage in sexual intimacy is as trivial as the flea bite.
“Mee it suck’d first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea, our two bloods mingled bee;”
Here, the speaker points out that the flea first bit him and drank his blood and has now bitten his lover and consumed her blood. The flea has effectively mixed their blood within its tiny body. The speaker is using this as a metaphor for the physical union he desires. He’s saying that just as their blood is now mingled in the flea, their bodies should also come together in a sexual union.
The poem as a whole is a clever and seductive argument for physical intimacy. The speaker is trying to persuade his lover that their union is natural and harmless, much like the flea’s bite, and that denying him is as trivial as ignoring the flea. Through intricate metaphors and persuasive language, Donne uses the flea to explore themes of desire, persuasion, and the merging of two individuals in a physical and emotional sense.