“The Flea” by John Donne is a poem that deals with the assertion by a male narrator, talking to a female love interest, that the role played by a simple flea’s feeding of both their bloods is a unifying act, and one that liberates her from the need to maintain her chastity. An early and important point to note, however, is that the poem appears to approach the subject with a profound crude charm – firmly angled away from the romantic – and as a result is befitting of Donne’s humorist style. The poem revolves around the comedic usage of metaphysical conceit . In this case the elaborate metaphor of a flea bite as an act of union. That in biting both the speaker, and his conquest/lover, a flea represents a firm partnership.

This hypermedia entry will discuss the poem from various angles: explicating, discussing the implications of its meaning, and contextualising the poem alongside contemporary scholarly articles on the work. In addition to this, I shall try to interact with the text creatively, and promote a better understanding and engagement with it through the freedom hypermedia allows.

(click on the infestation to proceed)