The FleaJohn Donne's poems are similar in content. They usually talk about the same topics like love, lust, sex and religion; only they are different in the feelings they express. These subjects reflect the different stages of his life: the lust of his youth, the love of his married middle age, and the piety of the latter part of his life. His poem "The Flea" represents the restless feeling of lust during his youth, but it is accompanied by a true respect for women through the metaphysical conceit of the Flea as a church to the rhythm of the act sexual. Flea" is a restless, would-be lover who is trying to convince his beloved to give him her virginity. So, to convince his lover, the speaker employs a chip that buzzes around the two to form three arguments. The first stanza compares the sexual intercourse with two people bitten by the same flea Both are connected by “two mixed bloods (Donne 1081)” and the sexual act is defined by the mixture of fluids, and not by an act of love or lust. Yet the tone of the passage is one of playful curiosity, which suggests the smile on the speaker's face as he contemplates achieving his ambitious goal. The playfulness can be seen in his selection and treatment. of the subject A flea is not a normal object held in the light of love; by bringing up this conceit we can see the unconventional way the speaker is trying to sell his point He is jealous of the flea because. that she received his blood “before courting (1081).” The argument is neither intense nor angry; it ends with a mocking sigh: “And that, alas, is more than we would do (1081). » The playful conceit of the first stanza sets the stage for the more outlandish assertions of the second and third. The speaker then...... middle of paper...... urch. And even though he desires her, his love and respect for women is still present. “The Flea” is its own blend of lust, love and Christianity, married by Donne. Works Cited Donne, John. “The Flea.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: MH Abrams, 1993. 1081.Eliot, T S. “Dissociation of Sensibility.” Critical Essays 2 (1952): 213-214. Oxford Journals. Evans, Robert C. “Literary Contexts in Poetry: John Donne’s “The Flea”” Great Neck Publishing (2006): 1. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Northeast view of the lake, San Antonio. April 17, 2008. Keyword: John Donne The Flea. Raynie, Stephen A. "The Female Body and the Obstacle of Specious Honor in Donne's 'The Flea'" University of Colorado Department of English 38 (2001): 40. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Northeast view of the lake, San Antonio. April 11, 2008. Keyword: “The Flea” by John Donne’