What is the message of the flea poem?

John Donne's poem, 'The Flea' is a metaphor for sex. The speaker shows a flea to a woman he wants to sleep with, and states that the flea has combined them into one by biting them both and sucking their blood.
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What is the main idea of the poem the flea?

'The Flea': summary

The poem uses the image of a flea to advance an argument for sexual intimacy, despite the social and religious taboos of Donne's time. The poem begins with the speaker pointing out a flea that has bitten both him and his lover.
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What is the message of the flea by John Donne?

"The Flea" is a poem about illicit sex. It challenges social norms around sexuality and tries to create space for sexual pleasure beyond the boundaries of marriage. It's surprising, then, how often the poem references Christianity.
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What is the irony of the poem the flea?

How is “The Flea” an example of verbal irony? Answer: Speaker expresses that sexual intercourse is inconsequential, but implies that it is monumental to him. Therefore, the second and third stanzas are examples of verbal irony for they state the opposite of what is implied.
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What is the central conceit of the flea?

The flea is the poem's central conceit, a seemingly innocent flea serves as a tool of seduction in an attempt to coax the speaker's lover into bed. “Me it sucked first, and now sucks thee” demonstrates the speaker's arousal which stimulates from the image of the flea biting both his lover and himself.
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The Flea by John Donne - Poetry Reading

What is the speaker's argument in the flea?

In “The Flea,” the speaker tries to seduce a lady by arguing that the lady's blood and his blood are combined in a flea. The speaker provides an analogy between the union of his and the lady's blood within the flea and the physical union during sexual intercourse.
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What is the tone of the poem the flea?

The tone of the poem is highly ironic, dramatic and absurdly amusing. Extravagant declarations of devotion and eternal fidelity which are typical found in love poetry are absent.
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Is the flea a romantic poem?

"The Flea" is an erotic metaphysical poem (first published posthumously in 1633) by John Donne (1572–1631).
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What is the personification in the flea?

Donne personifies the flea by suggesting that it is capable of wooing, or seducing, the young woman. Personification involves attributing human-like qualities or behaviors to a nonhuman thing.
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What poetic devices are used in the flea?

John Donne employs rhyme, alliteration, and religious parallels in his poem ''The Flea. '' The lines of the poem adhere to an aabbccddd rhyme scheme. Thus, every two lines rhyme until the final three lines of each stanza, which rhyme as well.
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How does the flea represent love?

In 'the flea', unlike how the male lovers would normally try to win over the women with beautiful and unrealistic languages in the Petrarchan love poetry, in 'The Flea' the speaker uses unromantic imagery of a parasite, the flea as the metaphor for his intimate relationship with the woman, in order to persuade her to ...
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How is the flea killed in the poem the flea?

It happens between the end of stanza two and the beginning of three. The woman has crushed the flea, even in death a noble martyr: “Cruel and sudden, hast thou since / Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence?” By turning this accusation into a question, Donne nicely maintains the comic pitch.
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What is a close reading of the flea?

A close reading of 'The Flea'

The suitor in 'The Flea' enviously describes the creature that 'sucks' on his mistress's skin and intermingles its fluids with hers. Here Aviva Dautch explores images of eroticism, death, guilt and innocence in John Donne's poem.
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What are the three aspects of fleas that the poem describes?

Quote three aspects of fleas that the poem describes. [

“fangs”, “bite” and “itch”.
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Why is the speaker jealous of the flea?

He acts jealous of the flea because it received her blood “before it woo (1081).” The argument is not intense or angry; it ends with a mock sigh: “And this, alas, is more than we would do (1081).” The playful conceit of the first stanza lays the ground for the more outlandish claims of the second and third.
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What is the hyperbole in the flea?

Hyperbole. The author wanted to have intercourse with his lover, but he keeps comparing it and their love to the flea. Since he is comparing it so much to the flea, which is a worthless parasite, it's weird that he wants to have intercourse with her so badly.
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Who was the English poet known for the flea?

The English writer and Anglican cleric John Donne is considered now to be the preeminent metaphysical poet of his time. He was born in 1572 to Roman Catholic parents, when practicing that religion was illegal in England.
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Is the flea an elegy?

Although the poems are alike, it is apparent that 'The Flea' is much more of an erotic joke intended to be shared with Donne's male friends rather than a sensual and passionate poem as seen in, 'Elegy XIX: To His Mistress going to Bed'.
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What is the rhyme scheme of the flea?

The poem has a rhyme scheme of AABBCC, or couplets. Each stanza finishes with a triplet. The lines alternate between 8 and 10 syllables, or iambic tetrameter and iambic pentameter. Each stanza contains 9 lines.
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Is the flea a carpe diem poem?

Andrew Marvell are example of Carpe Diem and have similar theme. Carpe Diem means to urge someone to make the most of the present time and give little thought to the future. Both poem heeds romantic theme.
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Is the flea a metaphysical poem?

''The Flea'' is a metaphysical poem by John Donne, who was an English cleric and poet in the early modern period. He is known for his witty poems which feature a conceit and for his two major poetic periods: an early one which dealt with erotic material and a later one which dealt with spiritual material.
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What are some lines on flea?

Fleas are small, wingless insects with a tough cuticle bearing many bristles and frequently combs (ctenidia) of broad, flattened spines. The adult flea varies from about 0.1 to 0.32 cm (0.039 to 0.13 inch) in length and feeds exclusively on the blood of mammals (including humans) and birds.
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What Colour are fleas?

Adult fleas are black to reddish- brown, but young adults that haven't had their first blood meal are quite small and black in color; after feeding they expand and appear lighter brown. The hairy, worm-like, white larvae, which are 1/16 to 3/16 inches long, have a distinct brown head.
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What do we call pissU in English?

/pissū/ mn. flea countable noun. A flea is a small jumping insect that sucks human or animal blood. /pissu, pissU, pissoo, pissū/
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