The Flea by John Donne is one of the most misunderstood poems of its era. Donne uses one of the most vile creatures of the late 1500s- the flea- to give the speaker a chance to convince a woman to have sexual intercourse with him. However, because the flea was (and still is) looked on with bitterness and disgust, people living in Europe during the 16th century did not make the connection between the pestering insect and something so desirable such as sex. In a way, it was a good thing that no one caught on to Donne’s parallel meaning because he was indeed a minister of the Church of England, and if one were to have captured his poem’s true meaning, he would have received much criticism by the Church. The poem features figurative language such as metaphors and hyperboles based on metaphysical dialogue, giving the work its distinct characteristics. It also follows a strict AABB rhyme scheme. …show more content…
“It sucked me first, and now sucks thee, - and in this flea our two bloods mingled be” (Lines 2-3). The speaker tells the woman that because the flea had already bit both of them, they technically have already exchanged bodily fluid, which is what sex is in a nutshell. He then attempts to convince the woman that there was nothing to be ashamed of by saying that it would not be a “sin, nor shame...” (Line 6) because sex is beautiful. It is from this stanza alone that one can see the dirty mind of the