Pearson Edexcel · A-Level · English Literature
Course version: 9ET0 · Version from Sept 2015
Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Pre-1900 –…
Full specification wording
Component 3: Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Pre-1900 – Metaphysical Poetry – John Donne Selected Poems (Penguin Classics, 2006): The Flea
In 'The Flea', John Donne employs a striking metaphysical conceit, using a blood-sucking insect to construct a witty argument for premarital sex.
Checked against the Pearson Edexcel 9ET0 specification (opens in a new tab) on .
- Point 13 of 22
- 4 key terms
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
In 'The Flea', John Donne employs a striking metaphysical conceit, using a blood-sucking insect to construct a witty argument for premarital sex. The speaker notes the flea has bitten them both, mingling their blood inside its body, which he equates to a physical union and a marriage temple. When the woman kills the flea, the speaker cleverly adapts his argument. He claims that just as her life was not diminished by the flea's death, her honour will not be lost by yielding to his advances.
What earns the marks
- Analyse the central conceit of the flea as a symbol of physical union and a 'marriage temple'.
- Evaluate the speaker's use of rhetorical persuasion and syllogistic logic to manipulate the silent female addressee.
- Explore the poem's three-stanza structure, noting how each stanza represents a new stage in the speaker's evolving argument.
- Examine the subversion of Petrarchan conventions through the use of a grotesque, everyday insect to discuss erotic love.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Treating the poem as a serious romantic declaration.
Put it right: Recognise the poem as a witty, playful, and highly rhetorical exercise in seduction.
Ignoring the role of the female addressee.
Put it right: Acknowledge how her silent actions (threatening and then killing the flea) drive the shifts in the speaker's argument.
Misunderstanding the religious imagery.
Put it right: Understand that terms like 'cloister' and 'sacrilege' are used blasphemously to elevate a physical proposition.
Exam tips
- Contrast the playful, physical focus of 'The Flea' with Donne's more spiritual explorations of love in poems like 'A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning'.
- Focus on the dramatic monologue form, analysing how the speaker anticipates and reacts to the woman's unspoken responses.
- Discuss the contextual significance of the flea as a common trope in Renaissance erotic poetry, highlighting Donne's unique, argumentative twist.
Try the lesson
The start of the Component 3: Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Pre-1900 – Metaphysical Poetry – John Donne Selected Poems (Penguin Classics, 2006): The Flea lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
Have a go first
What is the central conceit used by the speaker in John Donne's 'The Flea' to persuade his addressee?
Listen
In 'The Flea', John Donne employs a striking metaphysical conceit, using a blood-sucking insect to construct a witty argument for premarital sex. The speaker notes the flea has bitten them both, mingling their blood inside its body, which he equates to a physical union and a marriage temple. When the woman kills the flea, the speaker cleverly adapts his argument. He claims that just as her life was not diminished by the flea's death, her honour will not be lost by yielding to his advances. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Analyse the central conceit of the flea as a symbol of physical union and a 'marriage temple'. Evaluate the speaker's use of rhetorical persuasion and syllogistic logic to manipulate the silent female addressee. Explore the poem's three-stanza structure, noting how each stanza represents a new stage in the speaker's evolving argument. Examine the subversion of Petrarchan conventions through the use of a grotesque, everyday insect to discuss erotic love. A common slip: Treating the poem as a serious romantic declaration. Instead, recognise the poem as a witty, playful, and highly rhetorical exercise in seduction. Exam tip: Contrast the playful, physical focus of 'The Flea' with Donne's more spiritual explorations of love in poems like 'A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning'.
Key words
Say what each word means before you turn the card.
Seduction and persuasion
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The physical versus the spiritual
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Religion and blasphemy
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Logic and rhetoric
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See every definition
- Seduction and persuasion
- The poem is a witty, playful and highly rhetorical exercise in seduction, in which the speaker uses rhetorical persuasion to manipulate the silent female addressee.
- The physical versus the spiritual
- Religious terms such as 'cloister' and 'sacrilege' are used blasphemously to elevate a physical proposition, while the flea symbolises physical union and a 'marriage temple'.
- Religion and blasphemy
- Terms like 'cloister' and 'sacrilege' are used blasphemously to elevate a physical proposition, equating the flea's mingling of blood to a marriage temple.
- Logic and rhetoric
- The speaker employs rhetorical persuasion and syllogistic logic to manipulate the silent female addressee, with each stanza representing a new stage in his evolving argument.
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