The Flea And Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

The Flea, by John Donne, is a well known poem which even now has a bold meaning. Overall in this poem the speaker is attempting to take the virginity of a woman he is with by using the flea around them as a way to convince her. In the first stanza the flea has come and bit him and then bit the woman. He says that their blood is already intertwined in lines three and four “it sucked me first, and now sucks thee,/ and in this flea our two bloods, mingled be.”

“And I their Mapp, who lie Flat on this bed”. He describes his body as a map, a metaphor for his life being a journey, which his doctors attempt to read in order to discover his illness and his suffering and ultimately where his journey ends. In reference to Cartography, Donne refers to bearings, using the imagery of a map to point out that what we see on the western edge of a flat map is also to be found on the eastern edge, showing that he believes life and death are connected to each other. In the final stanza, Donne feels joy at the though of death as he feels he will recover his identity by reuniting with the lord. In the final stanza, he returns to the idea of the first stanza, summing up the poem’s central message with the use of a paradox. “Therefore that he may raise the Lord throws down.” This paradox shows that to rise up to heaven, one must be thrown “down” by death, so therefore one must suffer to be accepted and united in a place where one’s identity is established. His extreme suffering has purged and prepared him for paradise.

What is the definition of love? Importantly, what comprises love? One can speculate on what it means to be in love; though, often it takes the actual experience to know. While, there are many theories on what true love is, and how one knows their love is pristine. No one elaborates better on what true love is than John Donne. A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning by John Donne expresses what true love consists of and how one can differentiate between lust and love. This powerful metaphysical poem about love compels even the unbelievers of love to ponder about love in their own minds. Metaphysical poetry is poetry characterized by intellectual displays

sense we think of and none of them are written as a sonnet. In fact,

The author,unlike Thomas, uses words that are caring and nurturing during his work. Donne uses adjectives such as “lover’s”, “dull”, and “mildly” to explain his love for his woman and to express to her their love will not be forgotten. Both of these author’s take this literary device into their writing for descriptions to their contrasting stories. These authors use these adjectives with force to express how they feel about the loss of a loved one and how others should feel due to their experience with

To him, Death is merely lowly character that flaunts off its strength and has no power or influence of its own, like an arrogant slave. In his poem, he refers to death as “dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell”. Even though Death does garners fear in others and is prideful in its capabilities, it actually can only rely on despicable means to manifest itself. Donne considers death as a short sleep, which people will awaken from to a new life after death, whether in heaven or in hell. Donne plays up Death’s role as unimportant and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and believes that the fear that people feel from Death unwarranted. His view of death contrasts that of Emily Dickinson

Stylistically, Donne’s poems often present disputes between two lovers, his satirical and sometimes even sceptical interpretation of love and relationships, and also his ties to his faith and religion (Locklear, 2014). Donne’s visionary works led him to become a sole initiator of the metaphysical style of poetry. The ideologies of the time in which he was writing impacted his perspectives greatly, but also provided a stimulating and solid viewpoint from his

Donne will not abandon his attempt to pursue the lady he wishes to be

In the second stanza, Donne goes on to make the point that the flea is

John Donne is one of the most influential metaphysical poets of his time. Donne wrote a variety of poetry that includes, Satires, Songs and Sonnets, and later his Holy Sonnets. The nature of Donne’s poetry often stems from his Christian beliefs that directly show what he believes true in many aspects of life. Donne’s writings often encompass his religious and philosophical beliefs, which tie into, what he believes about love and death.

William Wordsworth once said, "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility". This quote definitely holds true to Andrew Marvell's poem "To His Coy Mistress" and John Donne's poem "The Flea". The theme of each of these are quite similar, these two metaphysical poets both used poetry as a way to convince their lovers to have sex with them. Being metaphysical poets, their writing styles are indeed similar as well; argument, union of lovers souls, abstruse terminology, and carpe diem. Although both Donne and Marvell used the same theme and writing styles, the way they depict their arguments are extremely different from one another.

The narrator in The Flea is an energetic man attempting to persuade a young lady to give her virginity to him. He tries to do this by contrasting their association with a flea that is in the room. The flea nibbles them both and Donne discloses to her this is typical of both of their universes joining into one. He says that the flea is presently the domain of adoration, desire, and marriage. At first, this poem is by all accounts pretty much love, responsibility from a male to a female, who says no his scurrilous cravings. Notwithstanding, a more profound look than merely the shallow uncovers that the man in this ballad is uncovering a legitimate point to his woman: that the loss of innocence, for example, her virginity, does not constitute lost her honor.

John Donne has written the two poem’s; “The Flea” and “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning”. The main theme of both of these poems are love. Donne wrote “The Flea” with a lustful view. The male character in the poem desired nothing more than sexual pleasure from the women he “loved”. But this immature perspective of love changed in “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning”. Donne writes about spiritual love that transcends physical separation. In “The Flea” it is written “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”, (“The Flea”, 2-6). Donne is trying to say that if the blood of the two

The central theme, introduced quite early within the poem, is the helplessness of death. Throughout the poem the speaker belittles death and approaches it with such bravery and poise. Donne confronts death by saying it is not in any regard “mighty and dreadful” (2), but rather brings “much pleasure” (7). Death is personified in the poem, and in this regard, possess no greater power over man. The speaker of the poem is Donne himself. He uses his literary tools of rhetoric and poetic devices to belittle death. Throughout the poem, the speaker comes across as being slightly arrogant, but he refuses to show weakness. His arrogance shows that he is not afraid of death as he demands death not to be proud. Donne takes the association of death and sleep, and reinvents this comparison to a greater effect. He describes sleep as being “pictures” (5) of death and death is no more different or more frightening. He extends this metaphor throughout the poem. In the second last line of the poem he

Another theme found in Donne 's love poetry is the juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane, mirroring secular love in divine concepts and expressing