Metaphysical Poetry In John Donne's The Flea

John Donne is known as being one of the most famous and influential metaphysical poets. The term “metaphysical," as applied to English and continental European poets of the seventeenth century, was used by Augustan poets John Dryden and Samuel Johnson to reprove those poets for their “unnaturalness.” As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, however, “The unnatural, that too is natural," and the metaphysical poets continue to be studied and revered for their intricacy and originality. Due to Donne’s personal experiences with spirituality and love, he is able to grasp the true meaning of metaphysical poetry (Brief Guide to Metaphysical Poets). Using all the aspects of metaphysical poetry, Donne creates a mysterious metaphoric poem titled, “The Flea.” Throughout this poem, the use of metaphors and breaks into the separate stanzas allow for the audiences to understand what The Flea is really about. At first glance, many read The Flea as a poem that compares sexual intimacy with an animal, but when broken down, it can be seen that the meaning is much deeper than intimacy, but it

However, before diving into the true meaning of the poem, it is quite important to scan it as a whole; therefore, looking for the structure, the rhyme scheme/meter, and the overall message of the poem as a whole. The Flea, as stated previously, is a metaphysical poem. This states that the poem does not follow an exact form, in some ways it can be looked at as sort of a free verse form of poetry, but with a rhyme scheme. When looking at the poem as a whole, it can be stated that the rhymes are very weak. For example, the rhyming of “this” to “is” and “said” to “maidenhead,” are expected and somewhat easy. While the message is clear as to what is happening, if better word choices had been made, then the poem might not feel as