John Donne | The Flea & Argumentation | Close Reading & Analysis

Close reading John Donne's "The Flea," I consider Donne's characteristic use of argumentation. This is a clip from a lecture I filmed a few months ago repurposed here in short-form.
A close reading, analysis, summary and exploration of themes in John Donne's "The Flea."
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[@fernandafischer463]

Your literature, the way you talk, the passion on your words… waw everything here is pure poetry! ❤

[@Buzzing0]

One of the many poems i have to closely analyse for A-Level its so much hard work doing an english lit course 😂

[@kristinabaade2343]

Surprising and hilarious! Thank you for introducing me to Donne. I must now read more.

[@cassiopeiathew7406]

This video was so helpful! I think it’s very normal as a reader to be much more accustomed to the 19th and 20th centuries as a reader of classic literature, so being given an outline to understand the poem. I’ve found myself very interested in the 17th and 18th centuries of literature recently, and I started reading John Donne today because I thought I would enjoy his writing a lot (what I read about him seemed to measure up to my tendencies). It was very helpful to see your reading because it helped align my own. I wanted to mention a theme though, and if you don’t see this comment I can completely understand not seeing it since this video is a few months old, because I’m very curious about whether my reading was accurate. The flea is a flexible symbol, not just sex but also the proposition of sex and how sex in theory could be used to benefit them both versus what in reality the flea does and how it acts, and I think that there is something to the line “and pampered swells with one’s blood made of two”. I thought this seemed very similar to the idea of pregnancy, if for the male narrator the flea is the means to satiate his hunger/libido and devour this woman then for her the flea is presented by him as the means towards pregnancy when in actuality what he’s offering her is the “pleasure” (which is really unpleasantness, in the same way a flea sucking blood is unpleasant) of being devoured. One blood made of two refers to both the process of children being born (one blood from two) but also the final supper (where one blood was made from two, god and Jesus). I also thought that “the purpled nail” was evocative of the colors of lent, which as I’m sure you know refers to the 40 day period where Jesus fasted in the desert and resisted the temptation of the devil. The narrator is sort of a persona of the devil in this poem, and her Jesus (one tempting and the other resisting “pleasure” through sin). But I’m aware it’s very easy to overstep when reading outside of your typical boundaries, so I wanted to ask you’re opinion of that reading.

[@blah5084]

Really love the content!

[@j.c.8944]

Thank you man!

[@ankitjha7091]

love this content ❤

[@jamesduggan7200]

Normally I'd admit this is a favorite of mine but to what effect would that be, as it's likely a favorite of everyone : )

[@hasnainkabir7567]

Dayum... The Rizz!

[@kristinabaade2343]

👍👍👍

[@Ekta_singh7]

The way you explain 💯 you're cute👀