ANALYSES OF COURTLY AND
RELIGIOUS LOVE IN “THE FLEA”
By Jenny Chang
In this poem, the poet uses the Metaphysical Conceit
of a flea
in persuasion to his mistress
that the reasons for resistance to make love are
trivial.
In the 16th century, there is a general belief that
woman become pregnant
when the blood of man mix with her blood during sexual
intercourse.
The poet argues that
since she will not lose her virginity when her blood
mingles with his in a flea,
in the same way, she wouldn’t lose her honor in having
sex with him
as it achieves the similar effect in the body of
a tiny flea,
thus making the act of sex as unimportant.
In John Donne’s time, people view the beauty of woman
as a gift from God.
So Donne sees his desire for his mistress
in congruent with appreciation of the beauty created
by God,
and thus see sexuality as the mystical union of the
soul.
The flea, which symbolizes their union, is thus viewed
as a sacred as a temple, a cloister,
and a figure of Holy Trinity (since there are three
lives in one),
so to destroy the flea would be “three sins in killing
three”.
Because, first of all, it would be similar to killing
him, which is to commit murder,
and second of all, it would be killing herself,
which is to commit suicide (and that is also regarded
as a sin in Christianity),
and last of all, it would be to kill the flea which
represents that Holy Trinity,
and thus considered as a sacrilege.
Furthermore, purple suggests royalty. By “purpled
thy nail in blood of innocence”,
she is like the royal King Herod
who killed the innocent babies to prevent the birth
of the Holy Christ,
which further develops the notion that by killing
the flea,
she is guilty of murder and sacrilege, and results
in the losing of all her innocence.
Then it wouldn’t be considered so serious a sin
to lose some more of her innocence by having sex
with him.
It is interesting to note how the poet presents his
argument.
He first trivialize the effect of sex to a flea bite,
and then make a big issue of what the flea represents
and the seriousness of destroying it to later again trivialize the seriousness
of such destruction to further develop his point.
The fleabite will not make her weaker, and is insignificant
in the life it took from her
when it bites her or when it dies. And since
the flea symbolize their sexual union,
he goes on to argue that the honor she will lost
if she give in to him would also be as insignificant
as the little amount of blood (of hers) that will
be wasted along with the death of a tiny flea
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