Blog #2

How does Donne's use of irony in "The Flea" or "Woman's Constancy" affect the meaning of his poems? How are we to respond to his speakers?

Part 1)
I thought that this poem was very interesting. At first, it seemed strange that someone would write a poem about a flea. But, it made me want to read it to find out. Some of the language and words used were a little confusing, like "thou deniest", "maidenhead", and "triumph'st". I definitely had to read it a couple of times. I thought it was funny because guys will say a lot of things to get a girl in bed, but I've never heard of a guy using an explanation of a flea as a reason to sleep with him. I also thought that it was interesting that the two people in the poem were not grossed out because of the flea. It was almost normal to them to have a flea in their bed. Nowadays, they would not be so calm.

Part 2)
Donne uses a lot of irony in his poem, "The Flea". First of all, the title of the poem is ironic and leads the reader to believe that the poem is simply about a flea. However, the poem is about much more than a little flea. The speaker of the poem, most likely male, is talking directly to another person, most likely female. The man is trying to convince the girl that since a flea has bitten them both, the girl mine as well give up her virginity to him. The speaker proposes that since the flea has bitten them both, both of their blood is mixed in the flea, and therefore it is almost like they have already made love. The speaker says, "It suck'd me first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea our two bloods mingled be." He argues that they are practically married because of this flea, saying, "Where we almost, yea, more than married are." Surprisingly, the woman does not fall for this and moves to kill the flea. The speaker tries to discourage her, saying that by killing the flea, she will spill their blood and be committing murder and even sacrilege. He tells her, "Let not to that self-murder added be, And sacrilege, three sins in killing three." He suggests that the flea, in some way, possesses the holly trinity by saying, "three lives in one flea". The entire poem is ironic because it uses a flea as an example of sex, marriage, and religion. It is ironic that the speaker suggests that the woman giving her virginity is not only approved by God, but would be against God not to. Using this irony adds to the depth of the poem and emphasizes the point he is trying to make. The reader is to respond to the speaker by interpreting the meaning by looking past the literal aspect of the poem. The reader must identify the irony in the speaker and analyze the use of this irony.