Preview

Ironic Symbolism in the the Flea and Unkknown Citizen

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2406 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ironic Symbolism in the the Flea and Unkknown Citizen
Chloe McKee
English 112- Formal Essay 1
February 28, 2011
Morals, Personality and True Identity

Ironic Symbolism is used to define the conflicts within “The Flea” by John Donne and “The Unknown Citizen” by W.H Auden by having a significant object, which is a flea and a monument, which represent a conflict that is portrayed throughout the poem. The flea represents three different arguments that are introduced in each stanza based on sex and the morals behind it. The monument in the “Unknown Citizen”, symbolizes the model citizen only based on statistics and not the true identity of the human such as their personality. Both these authors create a compelling conflict with arguments and evidence which can be portrayed through the ironic symbolism of the flea as well as the monument. John Donne’s “The Flea” is a seductive poem in which the author introduces a flea as a symbol of morals, sex, marriage and a reference to Jesus and his innocence. By the end of the poem the author has created a very convincing argument as to why sex with him should be considered. He has proved that it is not only a big deal, but that it would just show their compassion for one another. He argues that if she did not then he is worried that she will be breaking her own morals. The symbol of the flea changes throughout the poem and represents three different sides that are evidence to his argument. The first argument portrays sex as insignificant and that it could not be reflected as a dishonor. He says that sex cannot be seen as bad considering a flea bite is not thought of as a sin. A critic of Donne believes that “the man was depicted as the enemy who only had sex on his mind. He thought that he could trick the women into believe that sex was not against her beliefs because supposedly if she had killed the flea it is not considered a sin so how is sex” (Mansour). After diminishing the significance of the lover’s virginity, Donne moves on to images of combined blood. The flea has sucked



Cited: Auden, W.H. "W.H Auden "The Unknown Citizen"" The Literary Link. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://theliterarylink.com/un.html>. Donne, John. ""The Flea"" The Literary Link. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://theliterarylink.com/un.html>. Mansour, Wisam. “Donne’s The Flea.” The Explicator 65.1 (2006) 7+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. Meyer, Bruce. “An Essay on “The Unknown Citizen”.” Poetry for Students. Detroit: Gale. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Mark Twain’s, “The Lowest Animal”, he uses Situation irony, Hyperbole, And Juxtaposition to convey that animals are actually more civilized than human beings because they lack these characteristics. Twain uses Situation irony the difference of expectation and reality. In paragraph 171-189, it talks about putting different types of animals in a cage together to see what would happen when they're left alone. The different animals learned how to get along. But when putting different type of people and religious they ended up killing each other.…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many metaphors are employed within Gascoigne's poem, relating the speaker's troubles to understandable situations that allow readers to imagine and empathize with the speaker's situation. With a metaphor consisting of the mouse and bait (lines 5-6), the mouse has been able to escape a trap and fears of being trapped again. This compares to the speaker’s relationship because it implies that his relationship with the woman is toxic, relating the woman to the trap and himself to the mouse, the woman effectively trapping him into the toxic relationship. A second metaphor consists of a fly…

    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When we look at identity, this poem discusses a lot about race, America, truth, and many questions are asked about one’s identity. An average 22-year-old college…

    • 1255 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In a child-like setting in an almost fantastical realm where animals can talk, read, and even govern themselves, Animal Farm possesses a light-hearted beginning where a simple, countryside farm delves deeper into the consequences a dictatorial sovereign. After World War II, many countries began to notice the ideals of communism and its potential benefits nurtured from the Russian Revolution, without acknowledging the negative ramifications involved. George Orwell mirrors the Russian Revolution through situational irony, where the outcome is unexpected verbal irony, when the words contradict the intended meaning, and dramatic irony, where concepts are unclear to the characters although the reader understands. Orwell’s allegorical fable, Animal Farm, effectively informs the reader of significant incidents which portray Stalin’s degradation in the Russian Revolution through the implementation of three distinct types of irony to convey his personal opinions on each matter.…

    • 1162 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The author Steinbeck actually uses a lot of irony in the entire novel. One of the major irony appears in the book is the scene when George kills Lennie, because he wants to protect Lennie from other people such as Curley who might treat Lennie in a violent way. Ironically, George takes Carlson’s shotgun to kill Lennie, and this shotgun is actually the one is used for killing Candy’s dog. It is also irony since the ranch hands do not feel sympathy for Lennie’s death and the fact that George loses his best friend, although they felt sorrow for Candy loss of his old dog. Slim is the only one who notices the fact of the shooting, and he tends to comfort George by telling him “you hadda” do it. Moreover, since George and Lennie is best friend to…

    • 2320 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The primary issue that Old Major has with the principle of working for man is that the animals do the work for no benefit, while Mr. Jones lives a life of excess. Old major is disgruntled by the fact that the man barks orders at his animals, and the animals remain malnourished and neglected even though they do the bulk of the man’s work. Soon after Napoleon and Snowball seize control of Animal Farm, as the animals work tenaciously in the fields, the pigs “…did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others” (50). The pigs’ integrity continues to decline as the story unfolds; the reader sees that they become more akin to the parasitic man which they had sought to be liberated from than diligent leaders they portrayed themselves to be. The pigs, who have taken the place of man at the farm, now begin to reap the benefits of the other animals’ work.…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wit Play Analysis

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The connections shared between Donne’s metaphysical poetry and Edson’s play Wit, occupies more than the adaptation of ideas and form, it represents the relationship between text and context. Wit reshapes Donne’s experiences of agency and self evaluation, thereby rejuvenating the humanistic paradigms…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Personification is the bringing to life of an inanimate object in which Donne uses in order to bring the flea to life. The flea is a symbol of their two bodies coming together because the flea bit him and then her. The mixing of their blood is used as a tool for the man to let the woman know that she is no longer a part of maidenhood. This meaning that the woman, and the man, are both no longer sexually innocent; Their bloods have mingled together inside the flea. Donne, known for his use of the sacred and profane, uses this method throughout the poem. He does this by taking the flea, a putrid parasite, and using it to portray the lovely and happy emotion and feeling of love. The love serves as the sacred, which is pure, and the flea functions as the profane, the unholy and impure. Donne uses the metaphor that the flea holds onto its own life, her life, and his life. This is a direct metaphor to the creation of a new being, meaning that with their bloods mixing inside of the flea, they have a “flea baby.” John Donne uses rhyming couplets throughout his poem in his iambic pentameter. The narrator does indeed get lucky with the woman. Even though the storyteller uses a flea to persuade the lady, during the time that the piece was composed, people were not squeamish when it came to tiny bugs. Back then, it was more than likely…

    • 1173 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Logic and White Elephants

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1. What has been the past relationship of the speaker and the woman? What has she denied him? How has she habitually “kill[ed]” him? What is his objective in the poem?…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    LOTF Symbolism Essay

    • 5825 Words
    • 24 Pages

    this essay is to investigate the different kinds of symbols that are used in the novel, and to…

    • 5825 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Into the Wild Essay

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Thoreau, Henry David. “Civil Disobedience.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Sixth Edition. Julia Readhead, Anne Hellman, Brian Baker. London, England. W.W. and Norton Company, 2003. 834-900. Print.…

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    St Patrick's College

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages

    When attempting to achieve a sense of acceptance, one would generally seek refuge in a place of safety, which in this case was chosen by the persona’s mother. By providing the poet with an expensive education, his mother believed that he would be able to fit in. This idea is challenged by the ironic statue of the secondary school block, which is referred to as “Our Lady”. In describing the statue, the poet gives two conflicting images of the statue with the lines “With outstretched arms,/ Her face overshadowed by clouds” and “Our Lady still watching,/ Above, unchanged by eight year’s weather. By using ironic imagery, we as readers are forced to question how concrete statues are able to provide warmth and protection. The juxtaposition of an accepting entity as described by “outstretched arms” and an object that does not move gives the impression that although the school is trying to make the students feel that they belong, the persona still feels isolated as indicated by the line “Like a foreign tourist”. The ironic implication of the unchanged statue can also be used to represent the poet’s experience as a student at St Patrick’s, indicating the lack of fulfilment in the eight years that he has been there as fulfilment can be intimately linked to the concept of belonging. In the closing lines, “Prayed that Mother would someday be pleased /…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Love

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In both Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ and Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore’ sex is represented as a catalyst for sin. The love which is promised by many of the central characters in the poem and the play often has a falsehood and is used as a facade for the character’s true egotistic needs within.…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hypocrites run society. Society puts both men and women under pressure to fit the image of perfection, yet when a person does achieve this so called perfection, others ridicule them for succumbing to peer pressure. In “The Unknown Citizen” by W. H. Auden, the speaker, a government bureaucrat, also takes on this two-faced attitude towards a man identified as the unknown citizen. At first glance, this poem seems like the well-deserved tribute to a man who lived the perfect life, but after a more detailed analysis, the speaker reveals his attitude towards his subject. The speaker uses diction and irony to criticize the citizen for following the standards set forth by society to encourage the reader to be brave enough to stand out as an individual.…

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Irony in Hamlet

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages

    One of the most useful motifs in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is the use of irony. Harry Levin’s “Irony in Hamlet” explains that ironic commentary is a technique that reinforces the poetic justice of the work.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays