The Flea

Poem

Mark but this flea, and mark in the

How little that which thou deniest me is;
It suck'd 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 pamper'd swells with one blood made of two;
And this, alas ! is more than we would do.

O stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, yea, more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.
Though parents grudge, and you, we're met,
And cloister'd 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 suck'd from thee?
Yet thou triumph'st, and say'st that thou
Find'st not thyself nor me the weaker now.
'Tis true ; then learn how false fears be;
Just so much honour, when thou yield'st to me,
Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee.

Analysis: 

                                                

         The flea is a metaphysical poetry by John Done. The metaphysical poetry is a group of poet which emerged in the begging of 7^th century. Tried to write poetry in a different way which with the passing of time came to be known as the metaphysical poetry. John Done was the founder of the metaphysical school of poetry.

          The flea is a remarkable metaphysical poem of john done. He makes use of a biological image of the Flea for the expression of the theme of love. It is an exceptional image to deal with the theme of love. Done avoids the use of traditional images and brings the image of the flea to deal with the theme of love. 

          The poem is addressed by the lover to his beloved. The lover expresses love, prepossess to her and she refuses it because of her sense of sin , shame and maidenhead. She does not respond to her lover because she considers it a matter of sin and shame it is because of her refusal, that the lover gives example of The Flea. 

           In the very first stanza of the poem The Flea has first suck his blood. Now it sucks her blood and show their bloods have mingled in that flea. It is neither sin nor shame. The lover tries to convince her that they are more than married in the living walls of that Flea. That flea is now their marriage bad and also the marriage church.

         Listening to such a speech of the lover, the lady tries to kill that Flea and again the lover tries to convince her not to kill that flea. He requests her not to mack her nails purples with the blood of flea. If she kill that flea, Life of lover and killing herself. The lover wants her not to commit a dangerous sin of self murder. She does not follow the request of that lover and kill the flea.

      The third stanza of the poem is given to the lover’s attempt to convince her that all her fears are groundless both became one in that Flea and yet it was not a sin or shame. The same way if she accepts his proposal, it will not be sin or shame. The lover is of the opinion that by accepting his proposal she will bring honor to herself. The lover wants her to realize that accepting proposal is not the loss of honor on the contrary it brings honor to a woman so she should part with her fear, sense of sin and shame.