“The Flea” by John Donne Close Textual Analysis

Close Textual Analysis: “The Flea” by John Donne

The British poet John Donne is one of the best-known and most often-quoted of the metaphysical poets. Donne was a devout Christian but often used strange, arresting metaphors to convey theological truths. This can be seen quite clearly in “The Flea,” in which the small, biting insect that is apparently a mere annoyance becomes a metaphor for the joining of the poet and his beloved. “It sucked me first, and now sucks thee, / And in this flea our two bloods mingled be,” writes Donne (3-4). Even though the poet and his beloved are not physically touching, the ugly, even repugnant parasite still has an elevating, even beautiful role in uniting the two souls, although the poet’s beloved cannot perceived this.

Donne’s poem reflects his belief as a Christian that all creatures, however humble, have a dignity as they are created by God. But it also has a strong sexual overtone. Donne notes that he does not mind the flea biting him and mixing his blood with his lover’s blood, because this is one way the two can enjoy one another, without “sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead” (5). The poet and his lover are prevented from marrying one another by their parents but through the agency of a flea, they are able to transcend physical and social prohibitions and still find joy with one another. “This flea is you and I, and this/Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is; / Though parents grudge, and you w’are met” (12-14). The lady apparently does not wish to defy her parents but the flea does its own bidding, regardless.

Lovers’ cruelty is a frequent theme in literature, and this poem is no exception. The poem concludes with the lady piercing the flea with her nail, killing the flea and drawing blood similar to how her cruel refusal draws blood from her lover’s soul. The lady has, “Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence? / Wherein could this flea guilty be, /Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?” (22-23). As well as reproaching the lady for harming the flea, an example of her carelessness to her lover’s heart, Donne also refers to the piercing as a “sacrilege, three sins in killing three” (19). This is an explicit analogy between killing the flea and killing Christ. Christ’ blood is often said to be purple (affirming his blood sacrifice as well as his status as king of heaven). Rather than calling the lady’s nail a fingernail, the poet calls her weapon a nail, again a reference to the nail that pierced Christ’s flesh. The flea is innocent, except for the fact that it contained the blood of both man and woman, which the woman clearly spurns.

Love for the woman and Christ’s love for humanity are embodied in the flea. The flea likewise suffers for its uniting two human beings, just as Christ suffered for uniting with human flesh. This underlines the fact that love for another human being is not only carnal but contains a spiritual side that the woman would prefer to ignore but cannot be denied. Her refusal to acknowledge her lover and her turning away from true love is similar to the denial of Christ by humanity and she is just as physically as she is spiritually cruel in her actions towards God’s creature.

The flea’s humbleness and lack of romantic resonance makes it particularly resonant for Donne’s illustration of the difficulty of human beings to perceive things as they truly are, rather than to skim the surface of truth. The beloved only sees an annoying insect, much as she does not truly value her lover’s sacrifice for her. But humanity similarly did not value Christ’s sacrifice, nor can most people see the goodness of God mirrored in the actions of a flea, although Donne assures us they are manifest.

Work Cited

Donne, John. “The Flea.” Poetry Foundation. Web. 29 May 2018. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46467/the-flea