Monday, May 14, 2007
The Flea
So after discussing The Flea in class tomorrow, I am pretty sure that this poem has been my favorite so far. The radical thinking made me laugh and the idea of it all was rather amusing. Honestly, who thinks that it is ok to have sex with someone if they are both bitten by a flea. That is in no way, shape, or form related to marriage or any type of union for that mattter. I think that I liked this poem so much because it is so out there in it's rationilization that I can understand it. What does everyone else think?
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5 comments:
Relating premarital sex and a flea, is not really a comparison that is commonly used, after trying to read into a deeper meaning of the poem it appears that choosing a flea seems appropriate because Donne is talking about sex which is a sensitive subject and somewhat inappropriate too, and making the comparison with their blood mixed in with the flea doesn’t make the subject seem overly explicit but rather a little romantic, maybe?
I really like the poem as well, but for a different reason then what Chase has said. This poem really shows the cleverness behind John Donne. How he could take something so unrelated to sex or love and make it directly related is amazing! The beloved states shes lost nothing by killing the flea, and he counters by saying she'd lose nothing by being in bed with him either. Interesting poem, surely one of the better ones.
I agree with Chase that this poem is pretty radical and quite amusing. Donne could of used anything really in this case to symbolize the love that him and his lover share but he chooses to pick a flea. This is certainly out of the ordincary to use for a comparason but it surprisingly does help one to understand it better. It creates a vivid visual for the reader to see the flea taking blood from both then to actually see the blood inthe flea gives the reader the feeling that the flea represents the highest and most strong form of love. I've found that i like this poem a lot and think that it is the most interesting so far.
KERTH
I agree with Kerth. Donne could have used any object and still would have made it work to symbolize the same idea that the flea does. The flea is an interesting choice though. I also think the blood in the flea represents both the speaker and his beloved's emotions mixed together to become one thing, united. Also, I think Donne is trying to get the message across that if their blood is already mixed together, then it's okay if they engage in a sexual act. If their blood mingling is harmless, then so is premarital sex. At least, that's what I got from this poem.
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