John Donne "The Flea" and Persuasion

Tactics of Persuasion in John Donne’s “The Flea” John Donne’s poem, “The Flea,” builds the argument of a young man as he tries to convince a woman to go to bed with him. He utilizes several tactics as he tries to sway the woman, playing on both traditional Renaissance ideas and religious beliefs, and twisting these ideas to fit the situation and his argument that the woman in the poem should have sex with him. His main strategy is to appeal to the women’s logos and he manipulates the simple event of being bitten by a flea into an argument for a sexual relationship between himself and a young woman. Yet despite his clear effort and intelligence, he is ultimately denied as the woman kills the flea. The narrator beings the poem with a playful tone; he humorously presents the absurd yet logical idea that the two of them may as well have intercourse based on the fact that they were both bitten by a flea. He claims, “It sucked me first, and now it sucks thee, / And in this flea our two bloods mingled be” (3-4). The argument does hold some ground based on 17th century beliefs and the thinking that sex involved the mixing of blood, which was occurring within the flea. Additionally the language and approach that the narrator uses can take on a wicked tone, as he tries to persuade the young woman to sleep with him using deceptive tactics, such as devaluing her virginity in saying “how little that which thou deniest me is” (2). His argument does not hold up despite his efforts, yet he still can be seen as a bad boy as he uses any logical argument to try and convince the woman. This approach certainly presents irony, since this is an odd way for a man to take to try and convince a woman to go to bed with him. Rather than trying to woo her or claim his love to her, this man tries to appeal to her logic in an argument he continues to develop in the following stanzas. Additionally the flea is a subject that was seen as a humorous creature, mainly for it’s audacity, which is a trait that can also be seen in the narrator of Donne’s poem. This aspect also helps to create this playful and joking tone within the poem, as it is hard to believe that anyone would seriously try to use images of church and marriage to convince a woman to sleep with them. The specific language used is very suggestive and audacious, much like the argument presented. He uses and repeats words with strong sexual undertones, such as sucked and swells, which further add to the overtly strong approach used by the man. He continues to build his case by looking at the idea of virginity and minimizing the importance of chastity in the female. “How little that which thou deniest me is,” he says, referring to the women’s refusal to have sex with him (2). “A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead” also correlates with the minimization of the woman losing her virginity (6). Since their bloods have been mixed, actually having sex would now not be a sin, shameful, or cause the loss of her maidenhead. This argument minimizes the effect that having premarital sex would typically have because although the act itself has not happened, according the belief the actual action that occurs during sex has already occurred. The argument that the narrator and the young woman’s bloods are mixed therefore they may as well have sex is taken is yet another step further when the subject of marriage is incorporated. He describes their relationship because of the flea in another way, saying that it “swells with one blood made of two,” which plays on the traditional idea of marriage and man and woman being seen as one flesh upon marriage (8). He even goes so far as to say the two are “more than married” (11). He continues with this idea, metaphorically saying “This flea is you and I, and this / Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is” (12-13). His reasoning may be that because they essentially did have intercourse, they had already taken the step following marriage therefore they are beyond married. As flawed as the argument is, there is some logic present as he continues to push forward and attempt persuasion. In addition to utilizing logic to make the narrator’s point, Donne also incorporates religious elements to further prove to the woman that having sex with him is the right choice. While these references are not overtly obvious, they are clearly present throughout the text. The clearest example is in stanza 3, when there is mention of “nail in the blood of innocence,” which can relate to the innocence of Christ’s blood and the crucifix (20). In using this comparison, the mixture of their blood is again being in an innocent way and also being represented as holy and pure. Another clear religious reference occurs in relation to sacrilege. He states, “And sacrilege, three sins, in killing three” (18). The number three is significant in the realm of Christianity as it connects to the idea of the holy trinity. Religion is used to build the argument in the poem yet again, as the flea not only represents itself, but also the unity of the two as one; there are a total of three beings now being symbolized by the flea, and in killing it the woman would be destroying the unity that the narrator has built up. Since the two are “more than married,” destroying the marriage would be a crime against religion. Additionally some of the wording used in the poem is also connected to Christianity, such as cloister’d and the image of the nail and the blood of innocence. Although the poem has a single narrator, it is pretty clear that there is a woman present as he speaks in “this marriage bed.” While her response is never portrayed, the narrator implies that she is preparing to kill the flea: “three lives in one flea spare,” as he asks her not to kill it (10). Suddenly she does indeed kill the flea, as well as the proposal presented in Donne’s poem, as he says “Cruel and sudden, hast thou since / Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence” (19-20). In killing the flea in this final stanza, the woman is clearly rejecting advances with the same audacity that he originally exhibited. The sexual undertones that can be seen within the text are also present in the overall structure of the poem, as the argument is built up until this final climactic event of the killing of the flea. The narrator does not easily accept her answer and even continues to argue his side in saying, “then learn how false fears be,” and referring to the fact that he still thinks he was right (25). The argument comes full circle with the final death of the flea representing a clear response from the woman. Although the narrator tries several tactics to try to appeal to her she is able to see through his flawed logic and deny his advances.