Choose two or three of the poems you have studied by John Donne and compare and contrast the poet's treatment of the theme of love. Your analysis should include comments on the poet's techniques, use of language and stanza form

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Joseph Fitzpatrick, 11C                                 GCSE English coursework – Poetry, pre-1914 (Miss Heaver)

English Coursework - Poetry, Pre-1914

“Choose two or three of the poems you have studied by John Donne and compare and contrast the poet's treatment of the theme of love. Your analysis should include comments on the poet's techniques, use of language and stanza form”

John Donne's poetry, although very controversial and vastly different from most poetry of the society to which he belonged, has numerous general characteristics that are common throughout much of his work. On retrospective analysis, his poems can be chronologically arranged into 3 “phases” of his life – At a young age, Donne wrote very aggressively, sexually and satirically, contrary to the Petrarchan trends expected of poets during this time. Later, after “finding his true love”, his writings consisted of passionate odes to his lover – and later, Wife. As Donne became increasingly involved with the church, his poems also began to include more religious content.

Much of his later work is closely related to his relationship with God and his religious, spiritual, sexual and social beliefs. Although satire, aggression, and controversy are less common later in his life, the core of his techniques and styles remain very similar, as does his determinedly individualistic approach.

The Flea” is a clear example of Donne's disregard for common poetic conventions, and arguably shows a determination to purposefully break such “rules”. The template Petrarchan love poem - that idolises women, portraying them as Goddesses – is utterly “turned on its head”. It could be argued that even at this early stage in his writing career, Donne had an interest in social issues and saw these love poems as nothing more than dishonest approaches to attempting to engage in sexual intercourse with a desired partner. Donne's greatly controversial views on intimate relationships could be seen as somewhat “modern” - even by today's standards. His language throughout the poem is casual in comparison to other written works of the era and society, and his poetic methods (such as his unusual metaphors) would have been seen as very experimental and avant-garde – a concept that would have been frowned upon by many poets.

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In the poem, the persona (possibly an echo of Donne himself, or a situation Donne had been in) tries to persuade a woman to have sexual intercourse with him by arguing that her virginity isn't as important as she thinks, using a flea as a conceit. Donne makes the poem entertaining by using the simple method of building on the fact that the sheer nature of the poem is humorous, leaving him a large margin in which he could create a believable and interesting persona. This persona makes use of Donne's poetic techniques to get his argument across.

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