Humor,
persuasion, and passion all blend in Jon Donne’s “The Flea”. The Flea is
presented as a persuasive speech from one man to his, hopefully, lover.
However, it truly describes a different bond, the one between Earth and her
creatures.
The
structure with three stanzas lends itself to the idea of the Earth. Terra Firma
contains the start, maturity, and fall of creatures. Within the stanzas it
takes the reader through the steps of life. The discovery of the flea, the
flea’s life being observed by our sharp narrator, and finally the grimly squishy
finale.
The woman
being wooed by the speaker is Mother Earth. She provides sustenance for the
creature, but she also destroys the Flea in the end due to the inevitability of
time wasting all creatures on this planet. Impassive to the pleas of another
creature, this human, she ends life, continuing the natural wheel.
The enticer
is but a human man trying to discern meaning in the Earth’s actions. He
believes that all life is connected, “It
sucked me first, and now sucks thee,/ And in this flea our two bloods mingled
be;” but is unsure as to how the Earth is both a giver and taker, “Cruel and sudden, hast thou since/Purpled
thy nail in the blood of innocence?”. He comes to the correct conclusion
that Eath has no conscience or emotions
Will
waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.
Are you trying to read an allegory in this poem?
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