Metaphysical poetry involves the elevation of a seemingly
common item or action to an almost spiritual level of importance, and John Donne’s “The
Flea” illustrates this definition perfectly.
In
the poem, the speaker equates the “two bloods mingled” within the body of a flea with
the marriage of a man and his wife. Thus, the speaker argues to his lover that they,
from a certain perspective, are “one blood made of two.” From the speaker’s perspective,
the engorged flea is elevated from a pest to a “marriage bed” and “marriage temple.” The
speaker seemingly transfers the sacred characteristics, meanings, and implications of
marriage to a common flea.
However, the speaker
does not stop with this argument. To reinforce his point, the speaker also warns his
lover to not kill the flea because to do so would be “self murder.” By killing the flea,
one would be destroying a part of the speaker and his lover as well as their “union.”
Thus, the value of the flea is elevated to that of a human life as well.
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