In "The Flea" John Donne is able to use diction, and metaphor to persuade his lover into becoming intimate with him. The Flea, which the poem is entitled reflects the love that the speaker and his lover already share. the poem says it sucks me first and now sucks thee", which means that their bloods are already mixed together. From the speakers stand point the the blood which is mixed within the flea is just like them being intimate. In the sixteenth century of Donne's time it was believed that having sex with someone also meant their bloods were mixing. With this established in the first stanza the speaker continually uses the flea to illustrate what has "technically" already happened.
Donne's use of diction also adds to the speakers persuasive and pleading tone. In the second stanza Donne uses the words married, marriage bed, marriage temple, met , to illustrate the connection that the speaker and his love have together. Donne also uses the words spare, kill, self-murder sacrilege, three sins and killing, these words are used to make the speaker's lover feel as if she has committed a sin and she is the one who should feel guilty of a violation for not being intimate with him. the diction continues in the third and final stanza when Donne uses contrasting words, innocence and guilty. these words also make "the flea" something innocent and the lover in the poem the guilty one.
IN conclusion Donne was able to create a rather comical, persuasive plea for the speakers to convince his love to sleep with him. The diction was most successful in making it seem as the speaker's lover was the guilty one for wanting to hold on to her virginity until she is married. Personally i think that this poem is funny, creative and skillful in the use of diction and metaphor to illustrate the small difference between intimacy and a flea who has bitten two ppl. I do wonder if this poem was successful, if this was actually used by Donne.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Good-Morrow
I wonder by my troth, what thou, and I
Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?
But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?
‘T'was so; But this, all pleasures fancies bee.
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee.
And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love, all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere.
Let sea-discoveres to new worlds have gone,
Let Maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,
Let us possess one world; each hath one, and is one.
My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
And true plain hearts doe in the faces rest,
Where can we find two better hemispheres
Without sharp north, without declining west?
Whatever dyes, was not mixed equally;
If our two loves be one, or, thou and I
Love so alike, that none doe slacken, none can die.
In the Good morrow John Donne uses diction and metaphors to display his renewed love. As the first stanza begins Donne uses words such as Did, sucked, snorted and desired, these words display the past that Donne has experienced before meeting his love. As the poem continues into the second stanza Donne uses the words now and is to say to his love what they are doing now that he has met her. in the third stanza as well as the second Donne uses words of future tense, the things to come like Let, can and if. In each stanza Donne’s choice of words reflects his past love or what he thought to b love, and the love he has found, then his poem ends as a message of what he’d like his love to continue to be.
Donne also uses many metaphors to better define his experience with love. In the first stanza Donne reveals his past and what he thought was love, “’twas but a dream of thee.” Donne uses the word dream to describe his past a surreal, to the love that he has now found. This metaphor continues in the second stanza, “and now good-morrow to our waking soul.” Now that Donne has met his love he has awaken and she is his morning. And his Good-Morrow is his new love. The second half of the poem moves into a metaphor of journeys and worlds. "let sea-discoveres to new world have gone/ Let maps to others, worlds on worlds have shown/Let us posses one world" The one world that donne speaks of if their love, and all that they need to exist together. then in the third stanza donne uses the Word Hemisphere to discribe their two different lives, that are able to be one world together, as the perfect match.
In conclusion with diction an metaphor Donne was successful in illustrating a romantic poem declare his long lasting love, that has awakened him forever. The diction allows Donne to illustrate his love maturing. His metaphors expresses his past life, and his life in the present morning and the metaphors reveal a unique love that they share. the love that Donne has found is like no other on earth.
Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?
But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?
Or snorted we in the Seven Sleepers’ den?
‘T'was so; But this, all pleasures fancies bee.
If ever any beauty I did see,
Which I desired, and got, 'twas but a dream of thee.
And now good-morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love, all love of other sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere.
Let sea-discoveres to new worlds have gone,
Let Maps to other, worlds on worlds have shown,
Let us possess one world; each hath one, and is one.
My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears,
And true plain hearts doe in the faces rest,
Where can we find two better hemispheres
Without sharp north, without declining west?
Whatever dyes, was not mixed equally;
If our two loves be one, or, thou and I
Love so alike, that none doe slacken, none can die.
In the Good morrow John Donne uses diction and metaphors to display his renewed love. As the first stanza begins Donne uses words such as Did, sucked, snorted and desired, these words display the past that Donne has experienced before meeting his love. As the poem continues into the second stanza Donne uses the words now and is to say to his love what they are doing now that he has met her. in the third stanza as well as the second Donne uses words of future tense, the things to come like Let, can and if. In each stanza Donne’s choice of words reflects his past love or what he thought to b love, and the love he has found, then his poem ends as a message of what he’d like his love to continue to be.
Donne also uses many metaphors to better define his experience with love. In the first stanza Donne reveals his past and what he thought was love, “’twas but a dream of thee.” Donne uses the word dream to describe his past a surreal, to the love that he has now found. This metaphor continues in the second stanza, “and now good-morrow to our waking soul.” Now that Donne has met his love he has awaken and she is his morning. And his Good-Morrow is his new love. The second half of the poem moves into a metaphor of journeys and worlds. "let sea-discoveres to new world have gone/ Let maps to others, worlds on worlds have shown/Let us posses one world" The one world that donne speaks of if their love, and all that they need to exist together. then in the third stanza donne uses the Word Hemisphere to discribe their two different lives, that are able to be one world together, as the perfect match.
In conclusion with diction an metaphor Donne was successful in illustrating a romantic poem declare his long lasting love, that has awakened him forever. The diction allows Donne to illustrate his love maturing. His metaphors expresses his past life, and his life in the present morning and the metaphors reveal a unique love that they share. the love that Donne has found is like no other on earth.
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