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- JOHN DONNE: Spent much of inheritance on women, literature, pastimes and travels. Appointed chief secretary to Sir Thomas Edgerton only to then run off with his niece at the age of 25. Experienced a spell in prison and poverty.
- DONNE'S POETRY: Written through three stages; the lustful 'Jack Donne', the courting married lover, and the religious 'Dr Donne' Famous for combinations of sexual and religious imagery using a conceit.
- METAPHYSICAL POETRY: Conceit is used, with sensuality being blended with philosophy. Theme emphasised through metaphors and hyperboles. Form is often an argument.
- THE FLEA: Body is hard and polishes which assists movements onto a host. Commonly used as a sexual innuendo (for example, in 'Doctor Faustus')
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- MEIOSIS: 'How little that which thou deny'st me is;' Degree of understating the significance of sex, to the narrator it is just an action and shouldn't be viewed as a fundamental symbol of love/loss of innocence.
- SEXUAL METAPHOR: 'two bloods mingled' + 'living walls of jet' Symbolism of an unbreakable bond between the two as they have sex. Contrast narrator's idea of sex being superficial, attempting to be crude through highlighting closeness of lovers physically
- HYPERBOLIC LANGUAGE (SEXUAL): 'pampered swells' Highlights the extent of physical attraction felt by the narrator. Creates phallic imagery to add to the crude nature of the poem
- HYPERBOLIC LANGUAGE (RELIGIOUS): 'Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence' + 'three sins' Connotes that the intercourse between the two is illicit and that their physical love is a sin. Gives the narrator a threatening/manipulative nature around him. Use of crucifixion imagery to highlight possible fate of lover.
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- STANZA STRUCTURE: First stanza is dedicated to the flea, second stanza is the narrator's perspective and the third stanza is surrounding the fears of the woman and the potential consequences. In total, the reader has the union of the protagonists and their roles in the sexual intercourse, highlighting that there is no emotional love but instead the different elements linked to sex.
- METER: Lines alternate between 8 and 10 syllables, with the first and last line of each stanza having 8 syllables. Mix of iambic tetrameter and pentameter. Mirrors the uncertainty of the woman over her position in the sexual relationship.
- CAESURA: Used to slow down the pace of the poem to create dramatic effect- what are the potential consequences for the woman?
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- H.D. BRUMBLE III [1973]: 'In three short, incredible stanzas Donne manages to yoke a flea with copulation, pregnancy, the Trinity, a marriage bed and a temple, while the crucifixion and loss of maidenhead are forced to serve as analogies to that same flea's demise.'
- A. QUILLER-COUCH [1900]: '‘The most merely disgusting in our language’
- A.M. BOYD [2010]: '‘Beneath the overtly sexual surface, readers can
find competition between the speaker and his addressed lover and find
themselves asking who will win the debate [...]Though there is only one speaker, her silent
voice booms. She holds her own in this game and keeps him on his toes in a
humorous competition between lovers.’
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