Flea by John Donne | A Metaphysical Poem

The grand metaphysical poet John Donne's one of the best poems is 'The Flea'. The poem was published posthumously and he becomes unbound in case of writing this poem. 

The poem was written in the 1590's when he was a law student. 

Flea by John Donne is celebrated because of its 'metaphysical conceits'. Not only that, John Donne states on a very unnatural, unique kind of fact that a reader will never think even in their subconscious mind. 

Let us get started with the poem.

Flea by John Donne | Photo by Carolina Garbowska from Pexels 

Analysis and Summary 

What does the flea by John Donne mean?

Flea is a metaphor for love.

Firstly 'The Flea' is a love poem where he uses his impressive imagination that attracts the readers much. 

For an expression of love, Donne opens an image with a 'flea' or a fly that sucks human blood. We can consider as a mosquito. 

The 'flea' sucks the blood of the poet first then it also eats the blood of the beloved. 

So, in its stomach, the blood is getting mixed up and it becomes a form of love that happens in the unconscious minds of the couple.

In the first stanza, the poet gives an introduction of the flea that is tiny and even the poet also never thinks that it connects him with his beloved by blood. 

"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;"

Now, the poet utters about that tiniest creature to whom he denied. 

It first sucked the poet then his beloved and it melted their bloods in by its seep. 

So, this line is a metaphysical conceit because the poet takes a far-fetched reference to justify his love for her beloved.

The poet further speaks that now he knows how it gets attached unconsciously. The secret story of love can be said to the world he said. 

But he again utters that this is not a shame or loss of a maidenhead as it happens in disguise. 

"Yet this enjoys before it woo,

    And pampered swells with one blood made of two,"

As the flea has done the work on behalf of them, it changes to happiness where the poet only sees for his love and he pampered with this melted blood that is being made by two. 

To the poet, it is more than that what they could do for their selves. As a poem of metaphysics, it produces thoughts that never match reality. It goes away from the worldly system.

"Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,

Where we almost, nay more than married are."

Now, Donne utters that the flea has a total of three lives one is the poet, his beloved, and the flea. 

The Flea by John Donne has already done the work and this is much proper than their marriage bed.

Here, the poet uses a metaphysical conceit when he starts comparing flea with themselves. 

Donne takes a reference to their marriage bed and the temple where they have met. All will watch their marriage perhaps but they never know that love-making is already done because of the flea. 

This line provides an elevated thought to the mind of readers. He further states not to kill the flea because it has love inside it and the flea will live as a token of love. 

  "Let not to that, self-murder added be,

    And sacrilege, three sins in killing three."

Now the poet says if the beloved kill the flea then it would be the killing of three lives even of the beloved. Thus the flea becomes a part of them gradually.  

The cruel and saddest scene is this where the poet finds the blood of innocence in purpled nails. There the flea is being guilted by. 

It was the triumph of the beloved because takes the blood back by killing the flea. 

Now coming to reality, the poet enunciated that the love may fell because of the death of the flea. 

   "'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."

John Donne represents the flea as a symbol of love. 

The blood is being melted in its stomach and that is their reason for being connected to beloved. 

So much gives to the flea but it gets died by his beloved and it seems that they killed their love before they attached.   

The last line of the poem states a very nice fact where he utters that flea was the love that equals to them. The flea gets died which means their love has died. 

So, that is the whole scenario of the poem. Where the poet's love was too deep and he finds the reason in the flea. When he loses the flea his heart starts bleeding again.

What is the theme of the flea by John Donne?

Metaphysics is the central theme of the poem.

Flea by John Donne Rhetorical Analysis 

Rhetorical analysis is a part of a poem that helps to rich the quality of the poem. 

The Flea also consists of many relevant poetic elements that attract the readers. 

The poem consists of twenty-seven lines. 

The very first lines are written in iambic tetrameter thought the whole poem does not match to that meter. 

As a rhetorical device, we first find Syncope. 

Poet uses it by using an apostrophe for writing a word. We find many words that are written by using apostrophe such as 'know'st', 'w'are', 'triumph'st', etc.

Hyperbole is another relevant poetic device. Hyperbole use to be given to expanding a single thought much like an exaggeration. 

"three sins in killing three."

Symbolism takes another role in the poem. 

The poet symbolizes the love or the metaphysics by this all creature 'flea'. So, it is a rhetorical device. 

Except for these, we have metaphysical conceits, personification. These all make the poet more