Analysis: "The Flea" poem by John Donne

                                         

 

 



     Most people think that the poem the flea written by John Donne is about a lonely man trying to get his lady to sleep with him. While this analysis does make sense, it isn't the first thing I thought of when I first read it.

     When I first read the poem, I thought that the "flea" was actually referring to a baby. There are several lines in the poem that talk about mingling of lovers blood, which was theorized to be the cause of conception back when the poem was written. I think that the poem switches between speakers, one a man and one a woman, faced with an unplanned pregnancy.
    
     It seems like one of the speaker's is afraid of being shamed, possibly alluding to the couple having conceived their child out of wedlock. Line 5 and 6 of them poem says, "Thou know'est that this cannot be said / A sin, or shame, nor loss of maidenhead." Maidenhead is an old-fashion term for one's virginity, so it sounds like someone is trying to convince their partner that they'll be shamed if the news of the out-of-wedlock child gets out...

    When I read the poem, it sounds like two people in conversation. One of the speakers wants to keep the baby, but the other thinks they should get rid of it. In the second stanza the speaker that wants the baby says, "Where we are almost, yea more than, married are. / This flea is you and I, and this / Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is" (11-13). Note her how to the speaker refers to the "flea" as one life of three. They may be suggesting that the baby is the beginning of their lives together, and that they could get married. The third stanza begins with the same speaker, "Though parents grudge, and you, we're met / And cloistered in these living walls of jet" (14-15). this sounds like the couple's parents do not approve of the relationship, but that the speaker is sure that they will last forever. the "Cloistered walls of jet" sounds like it's referring to the darkness inside the womb, where their unborn child resides. They bring religion into the picture, saying that it would be a sin to murder the unborn baby, and may also kill the relationship.
     The last stanza reveals that the decision has been made, and the pregnancy has been ended. the speaker describes it as "Cruel and sudden", revealing that they more than likely made the decision hastily. The speaker claims that the other holds the blood of the innocent baby on their hands forever, questioning what it was guilty of other than being conceived.

     The poem ends with the speaker telling the other that honor is nothing when you carry the guilt of murder on your shoulders. they're honor will be forgotten eventually, the life they took away wasted forever.