The Analysis Of The Profane And Sacred In John Donnes...

John Donne who is considered to be one of the wittiest poets of the seventeenth century writes the metaphysical poem The Flea and the religious poem Holy Sonnet 14. In both poems, Donne explores the two opposing themes of physical and sacred love; in his love poem The Flea, he depicts the speaker as an immoral human being who is solely concerned with pleasing himself, where as in his sacred poem Holy Sonnet 14 Donne portrays the speaker as a noble human being because he is anxious to please God. In the book The Divine Poems, writer Helen Gardner supports this fact as she argues, His Maker is more powerfully present to the imagination in his divine poems than any mistress is in his love poems (Pg-2). Overall, it seems that both†¦show more content†¦This is evident to the reader in the opening few lines of the poem as the speaker states Mark but this flea, and mark in this / How little that which thou denyst me is / Me it suckd first, and now sucks thee / And in this flea, our two bloods mingled be (The Flea, L-1-4). Although Donnes language is simple, the reader notices that it is filled with many subtle allusions to sex, as the speaker cleverly employs words, which reveal precisely his intensions. This is apparent to the reader as the speaker argues with his mistress and attempts to convince her that engaging in premarital sex is as harmless as getting bit by a flea, as Â…[it] cannot be said / A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead (The Flea, L-5-6). The reader realizes that the speaker in Donnes poem possesses a strong and vivid imagination, as he believes that the intermingling of his and his mistresss blood in the flea is equivalent to having sex without physical contact, which is more, then they have engaged in, in reality. This is obvious to the reader as the speaker states Yet this enjoys before it woo / And pamperd swells with one blood made of two / And this, alas, is more than we do (The Flea, L-7-9). As the poem continues, the s peaker comes across to be relentless as he expresses his sexual desires aggressively by pleading for the fleas life because according to him it symbolizes their marriage. This is clear as the speaker insists: OhShow MoreRelatedThe Analysis of the Profane and Sacred in John Donnes Poems The Flea and Holy Sonnet 141869 Words   |  8 PagesJohn Donne who is considered to be one of the wittiest poets of the seventeenth century writes the metaphysical poem The Flea and the religious poem Holy Sonnet 14. In both poems, Donne explores the two opposing themes of physical and sacred love; in his love poem The Flea, he depicts the speaker as an immoral human being who is solely concerned with pleasing himself, where as in his sacred poem Holy Sonnet 14 Donne portrays the speaker as a noble human being because he is anxious to please