The Flea by John Donne

The Flea

Activity

Summary

My poem questions attitudes to sexuality, love, marriage and the ‘rents

In groups read the poem and summarise the stanza provided.

What is happening in the individual stanzas?

Identify at least three themes within the poem

Individually find at least one piece of evidence for the following and comment on what impact they have on the reader:

A strong speaking voice that is persuasive

The use of conceit

The display of wit - a form of intelligent humour

The use of paradox - is a statement that contradicts itself and still seems true somehow

Compile your answers on the Padlets on Moodle

You will be presented with four questions per group.

Discuss your answers in your groups, make detailed notes and then compile your answers on the journal in Moodle.

Each answer must consist of at least two paragraphs.

EVidence

EVidence

EVIDENCE

EVIDENCE

REMEMBER...

Identify at least two things you have learnt in the class.

Explain how this will be used within your studies.

Identify at least one element from today's session that you need to practice.

Create a target on how you will develop this area

Answer the following questions:

1. Is the narrator reliable?

2. How do the shifts in tone impact on how the reader sees Tam as a character?

3. How is the moral of the story undermined by Tam not getting his comeuppance?

4. How do the rhyme and colloquialisms add to

the poem?

Compare and Contrast

Draw two tables. First table will have the sections Sisyphus and Tam. The second table Mrs Sisyphus and Kate.

In the table identify at least 5 ways Sisyphus and Tam compare and Contrast. Then do the same for Mrs Sisyphus and Kate.

Stretch and Challenge activity available on completion

Themes

Literary Devices

John Donne

Analysis

Imagery

Symbolism

Personification

Simile

Hyperbole

Attitudes to sex

Religion

Sin and guilt

Relationships

Marriage

Seduction

Born in 1572

Eventually became Dean of St Pauls once no longer a Catholic

Died in 1631

His work was unpublished in his lifetime

Originally published: 1633

Was a metaphysical poet a term used to describe a group of 17th-century English poets whose work was characterized by the inventive use of conceits, and by a greater emphasis on the spoken rather than lyrical quality of their verse.

–where unrelated objects are used as metaphors

Poem from the persona to a lady he is courting

The rhyme scheme in each stanza is similarly regular, in couplets, with the final line rhyming with the final couplet: AABBCCDDD

The poem is a conceit

The purpose of the poem is to encourage pre-marital sex between the two and to comment on attitudes towards pre-marital sex

Written in first person as a discourse

Identify evidence of the above themes and literary devices. You will then swap and peer assess each others' answers and develop the answers further.

Analysis

Poem is built around juxtapositions- this adds to the conceit

The death of the flea is contrasted with her moral code at the loss of her virginity

There is religious vocabulary within the poem to echo the point that this is not a sin

The humour is gained from the fact he does not explicitly state that the poem is about pre-marital sex, he just implies it

He uses a range of emotional techniques – logic and then trying to imply guilt to gain his own way

The tone leads to comedy as at times there is a sense of misplaced outrage by the speaker towards the female

There is much use made of rhetorical questions as a way to persuade the female

The last stanza changes the rhyming pattern

The caesuras* encourages the audience listening to the poem to focus on the most significant aspects of it for the speaker

Donne is not afraid to use to use sexually charged language in his poem- reflecting his point about the lack of guilt in the act

* a pause near the middle of a line.

Potential Answers

The Flea by John Donne

1) The narrator could be seen as unreliable for a number of reasons. Firstly, he is retelling a tale/myth and therefore was not there. He speaks with a fondness for Tam. Finally, the narrator sounds like a man in the pub chatting away to people that will listen.

2) The tension is built up throughout the poem to reach a climax of the conflict between Tam and the witches chasing him. Allows us to see Tam's distress in the situation.

3) Tam is not the one that is punished, despite being the character that disobeyed his wife, got drunk and shouted obscenities at the witches.

4) Rhyming couplets are used within the poem to present a song like tone to add to the sense of comedy. The colloquialism enables a comedic rhythm and adds to the 'loveable rogue' character of Tam.

What is metaphysical poetry?

Attitudes to sex before marriage in the time of Donne

Research and identify at least three key points about attitudes towards marriage in the 17th Century

Their work is a blend of emotion and intellectual ingenuity, characterized by conceit or wit

The boldness of the literary devices used—especially obliquity*, irony, and paradox*—are often reinforced by a dramatic directness of language and by rhythms derived from that of living speech.

This was a serious sin and was seen as shameful

A woman must be virginal on her wedding day, otherwise the wedding could be annulled and she would remain unmarried – again a source of shame and financial hardship

It was not the same for males

How do you think attitudes to this differ for an reader of the poem compared to then and now?

*Obliquity - Deviation from moral or proper conduct or thought

*Paradox - contrary to expectations