By Siti Sarah Sofea
The Flea
By John Donne
Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is;
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;
Thou know’st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead,
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pampered swells with one blood made of two,
And this, alas, is more than we would do.
Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, nay more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is;
Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met,
And cloistered in these living walls of jet.
Though use make you apt to kill me,
Let not to that, self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.
Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?
Yet thou triumph’st, and say'st that thou
Find’st not thy self, nor me the weaker now;
’Tis true; then learn how false, fears be:
Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me,
Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.
In using figurative elements or symbolic figures related to animals, one would usually opt for elegant or majestic animals such as tiger, eagle and dove to convey meanings. However, John Donne, a great metaphysical poet of his time defies the convention as he employs the disgraceful and disgusting flea as the main symbol in his poem to persuade the lover to make love with him.
The grandeur style of writing is not the only thing that John Donne defies in the poem; he also defies the traditional view of marriage and dignity as he undermines the value of honour associated to preserving one’s virginity using extended metaphors related to a flea.
The speaker begins his argument by highlighting that a flea has sucked the blood of the speaker and his lover, causing their blood to mingle. The mingle of blood in this context is used metaphorically by the speaker as the physical intercourse as it suggests a deep level of intimacy. Addressing both physical and spiritual love, the speaker then further describes their union as "marriage bed" and "marriage temple".
The speaker presents a situation where they can be united without a care for their family's grudges through their completed union in the flea, although that does not seem to be the main concern of the beloved as the speaker keeps addressing the question of honour and dignity.
Through phrases such as "And this, alas, is more than we would do" and "Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me/Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.", the speaker challenges the societal norm that sexual intercourse can only be done through marriage. By likening the insignificant harm done by blood union in the flea to the possible harm done to the beloved's honour if they make love, the speaker argues that yielding to his advances would not cause any consequences to her moral or honour.
While the speaker’s choice of words and points in his arguments are persuasive and witty in some ways, the same thing cannot be said for the intended audience. The beloved, as I infer, may have been unimpressed by the speaker’s radical argument as she is described to be killing the flea, which can humorously be illustrated through Zahirah Azman’s artwork of the poem.
All in all, John Donne has not only defied the conventional literary styles by using a flea as his extended metaphor, he has also defies the moral convention by diminishing the importance of dignity linked to one's virginity in his arguments.
The Flea, by Zahirah Azman
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