Which of these poems do you think is most successful?

Authors Avatar

Which of these poems do you think is most successful?

Both of these poems were written in the 17th Century in a time where young women obeyed their fathers and did not have the right to choose their husbands. At marriage they were supposed to be virgins and this was tested by the ceremony of ‘bedding’ the couple with guests present. This was evidence to prove that the newly wed woman was a virgin.                                                                         Fleas were a popular subject for jocose and amatory poetry in all countries at the Renaissance. People did not know how disease was spread. The flea is a very interesting deep and emotional love poem. Donne uses similes and metaphors to get a picture of what is going on. 'The Flea' does not develop along the similar trail of lust to love: the reader can easily see the ways, in which Donne attempts to lure his mistress into bed, 'And in this Flea our two bloods mingled be.' He compares the taking of the blood from both to be similar to the bond formed by having sexual intercourse.                                                                                John Donne uses the most unlikely analogy in his choice of the flea, which is one of the most unromantic and disgusting things he could write about to describe the love between him and the woman. He uses the fact is she kills the flea she breaks the bond between him and her. 'Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare; Though use make thee apt to kill mee; Let not to this, selfe murder added bee; Mee it suck'd first, and now sucks thee; And in this flea, our two bloods mingled bee.' These show that Donne is confident that he can seduce the woman by the fact that he has her in his grasp by saying that the flea is like their wedding ring and destroying it would be like destroying them.

Join now!

The poem is based on the fact that they are now bonded in a way more than sex. The poem could be seen as a metaphor. He could be comparing himself to the flea and just like a flea he wont settle for just one person, he will jump from one person to another which suggest he cares more about sex than love.                                On the other hand in 'To His Coy Mistress' is a poem about a man trying to show his passion for the woman he loves. The poet Andrew Marvell uses similes and metaphors to describe his passion for ...

This is a preview of the whole essay