The-Flea分析

“TheFlea”SummaryThespeakertellshisbelovedtolookatthefleabeforethemandtonote“howlittle”isthatthingthatshedenieshim.Fortheflea,hesays,hassuckedfirsthisblood,thenherblood,sothatnow,insidetheflea,theyaremingled;andthatminglingcannotbecalled“sin,orshame,orlossofmaidenhead.”Thefleahasjoinedthemtogetherinawaythat,“alas,ismorethanwewoulddo.”Ashisbelovedmovestokilltheflea,thespeakerstaysherhand,askinghertosparethethreelivesintheflea:hislife,herlife,andtheflea’sownlife.Intheflea,hesays,wheretheirbloodismingled,theyarealmostmarried—no,morethanmarried—andthefleaistheirmarriagebedandmarriagetemplemixedintoone.Thoughtheirparentsgrudgetheirromanceandthoughshewillnotmakelovetohim,theyareneverthelessunitedandcloisteredinthelivingwallsoftheflea.Sheisapttokillhim,hesays,butheasksthatshenotkillherselfbykillingthefleathatcontainsherblood;hesaysthattokillthefleawouldbesacrilege,“threesinsinkillingthree.”“Cruelandsudden,”thespeakercallshislover,whohasnowkilledtheflea,“purpling”herfingernailwiththe“bloodofinnocence.”Thespeakeraskshisloverwhattheflea’ssinwas,otherthanhavingsuckedfromeachofthemadropofblood.Hesaysthathisloverrepliesthatneitherofthemislessnobleforhavingkilledtheflea.Itistrue,hesays,anditisthisveryfactthatprovesthatherfearsarefalse:Ifsheweretosleepwithhim(“yieldtome”),shewouldlosenomorehonorthanshelostwhenshekilledtheflea.FormThispoemalternatesmetricallybetweenlinesiniambictetrameterandlinesiniambicpentameter,a4-5stresspatternendingwithtwopentameterlinesattheendofeachstanza.Thus,thestresspatternineachofthenine-linestanzasis454545455.Therhymeschemeineachstanzaissimilarlyregular,incouplets,withthefinallinerhymingwiththefinalcouplet:AABBCCDDD.CommentaryThisfunnylittlepoemagainexhibitsDonne’smetaphysicallove-poemmode,hisaptitudeforturningeventheleastlikelyimagesintoelaboratesymbolsofloveandromance.Thispoemusestheimageofafleathathasjustbittenthespeakerandhisbelovedtosketchanamusingconflictoverwhetherthetwowillengageinpremaritalsex.Thespeakerwantsto,thebeloveddoesnot,andsothespeaker,highlycleverbutgraspingatstraws,usestheflea,inwhosebodyhisbloodmingleswithhisbeloved’s,toshowhowinnocuoussuchminglingcanbe—hereasonsthatifminglinginthefleaissoinnocuous,sexualminglingwouldbeequallyinnocuous,fortheyarereallythesamething.Bythesecondstanza,thespeakeristryingtosavetheflea’slife,holdingitupas“ourmarriagebedandmarriagetemple.”Butwhenthebelovedkillsthefleadespitethespeaker’sprotestations(andprobablyasadeliberatemovetosquashhisargument,aswell),heturnshisargumentonitsheadandclaimsthatdespitethehigh-mindedandsacredidealshehasjustbeeninvoking,killingthefleadidnotreallyimpugnhisbeloved’shonor—anddespitethehigh-mindedandsacredidealsshehasinvokedinrefusingtosleepwithhim,doingsowouldnotimpugnherhonoreither.Thispoemisthecleverestofalonglineofsixteenth-centurylovepoemsusingthefleaasaneroticimage,agenrederivedfromanolderpoemofOvid.Donne’spoiseofhintingattheeroticwithouteverexplicitlyreferringtosex,whileatthesametimeleavingnodoubtastoexactlywhathemeans,isasmuchasourceofthepoem’shumorasthesillyimageofthefleais;theideathatbeingbittenbyafleawouldrepresent“sin,orshame,orlossofmaidenhead”getsthepointacrosswithaneatconcisenessandclaritythatDonne’slaterreligiouslyricsneverattained