Free Essays on Donne

At first glance, the nature of Donne’s poem "The Flea" appears to be a love poem. It seems as though the male is pursuing the lady and she is resisting his pursuits. If you look deeper, you could even say that the male is trying to convince the woman that the loss of innocence does not mean the loss of honor. Donne begins the poem by illustrating intercourse as a dirty, shameful thing. He even goes so far to say if a tiny flea can recognize this then a human being sure should be able to see it. The flea bites both the poet and his lover. The poet asks his love to pay attention to the flea and the mixing of their blood in the flea’s body. Donne describes the swelling of the flea’s stomach in terms that it makes it seem as though it’s a pregnancy. (Although not a natural pregnancy†¦.the flea is swollen with their blood†¦and it seems Donne is alluding to a surrogate pregnancy and some imaginary marriage) Oddly enough it seems as though Donne is referring to the lady as a black widow spider saying that the woman is apt to kill him after they celebrate this imaginary marriage. This seems to deduce the woman to the position of the flea. The poet is trying to tie the woman and the flea together. If the woman were to kill the flea, then she would be committing suicide in a way. Yet the woman kills the flea anyway. The male in this poem has construed this fantasy world through the flea. Now that the flea is dead this fantasy world has also been destroyed. The woman explains the killing of the flea as being insignificant. This appears to demonstrate the loss of the woman’s innocence, in that the flea did nothing to deserve death. Throughout the poem the male has used the flea to illustrate the position that the man and his lover were in. He states that sexual intercourse is a sin, even within legitimate situations. The flea is then used symbolically, through its body, to represent a sexual act between the man and his lover. As t... Free Essays on Donne Free Essays on Donne Antonio S. Oliver Views of Death in Donne’s Poetry John Donne’s complex personality plays an important role in his poetry. His intellect, and as a result his work, demonstrates various opinions that at times conflict or agree with each other. These opposing views represent one of the most fascinating aspects of his poetry. Seldom is this divergence presented as clearly and frequently as in the theme of death, as will be illustrated by the following essay. As with most poets of his time, Donne was obsessed with death. Mesmerized by its mysteries, charmed by its allure, and convinced of the existence of an afterlife (as a result of Christian theology), he finds himself at times unable to settle on a particular view of the subject. While a considerable portion of Donne's opus deals with death either directly or indirectly, some poems depict death as insignificant while others present it as something he, and therefore humans, should fear. As a Christian, Donne believed (although perhaps did not understand) the concept of an afterlife. This conviction is shown by his understanding of death as a necessary stage before reaching the glory of heaven, the promised life with God. His contradictory behavior is demonstrated by a fear of death, sometimes expressed in his search for ways in which he could triumph over it instead of becoming its victim, which fueled his interest in the practice of suicide. One of the Holy Sonnets, Death Be Not Proud, presents the contradictory views of Donne. The opening lines, "Death be not proud, though some have called thee/Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so" demonstrate his own uncertainty on the issue, since that "some" he mentions includes him at times. However, he denies the power of death in the very next line, and proceeds to list several reasons why. The people whom death believes it kills do not "cease to live" (in order to avoid the use of the word ‘death’); death does not ha... Free Essays on Donne At first glance, the nature of Donne’s poem "The Flea" appears to be a love poem. It seems as though the male is pursuing the lady and she is resisting his pursuits. If you look deeper, you could even say that the male is trying to convince the woman that the loss of innocence does not mean the loss of honor. Donne begins the poem by illustrating intercourse as a dirty, shameful thing. He even goes so far to say if a tiny flea can recognize this then a human being sure should be able to see it. The flea bites both the poet and his lover. The poet asks his love to pay attention to the flea and the mixing of their blood in the flea’s body. Donne describes the swelling of the flea’s stomach in terms that it makes it seem as though it’s a pregnancy. (Although not a natural pregnancy†¦.the flea is swollen with their blood†¦and it seems Donne is alluding to a surrogate pregnancy and some imaginary marriage) Oddly enough it seems as though Donne is referring to the lady as a black widow spider saying that the woman is apt to kill him after they celebrate this imaginary marriage. This seems to deduce the woman to the position of the flea. The poet is trying to tie the woman and the flea together. If the woman were to kill the flea, then she would be committing suicide in a way. Yet the woman kills the flea anyway. The male in this poem has construed this fantasy world through the flea. Now that the flea is dead this fantasy world has also been destroyed. The woman explains the killing of the flea as being insignificant. This appears to demonstrate the loss of the woman’s innocence, in that the flea did nothing to deserve death. Throughout the poem the male has used the flea to illustrate the position that the man and his lover were in. He states that sexual intercourse is a sin, even within legitimate situations. The flea is then used symbolically, through its body, to represent a sexual act between the man and his lover. As t...