0:01
students today we are going to explore a
0:03
poem called the flea by John Dawn John
0:07
Dawn was an English poet who lived a
0:09
long time ago from 1572 to
0:12
1631 he is famous for writing
0:14
metaphysical poems the flea is one of
0:18
his most well-known Works John Don wrote
0:21
the flea to talk about love but he does
0:23
it in a very unusual way he uses a tiny
0:26
insect a flea to make his point this
0:30
video covers analysis of the flea by
0:32
John Dawn in this poem a man is speaking
0:35
to a woman he loves her and wants her to
0:38
love him back she does not want to the
0:42
man sees a flea that has bitten both of
0:44
them he says this flea has mixed their
0:47
blood together he uses this idea to
0:50
convince her that they are already
0:52
connected he thinks this should make her
0:54
say yes to him the poem has three
0:58
stanzas each St St has nine lines in
1:02
each stanza the man builds his argument
1:05
later the woman kills the flea John Dawn
1:09
lived in England in the late 1500s and
1:12
1600s this was a time called the
1:15
Renaissance people loved new ideas and
1:18
clever words Dawn was part of a group
1:21
called The metaphysical poets they used
1:24
strange ideas in their poems and the
1:26
flea is a good example of it people then
1:29
also cared about religion and honor the
1:32
speaker talks about Sin and maidenhead
1:34
because those were big worries
1:36
explanation with analysis of the flea by
1:39
John Dawn Mark but this flea and Mark in
1:42
this the speaker is talking to the woman
1:46
the word mark means look at or
1:49
notice he says look at this flea he
1:52
repeats it twice to get her attention he
1:56
wants her to focus on the flea this is
1:58
important because the flee is the main
2:00
idea in the poem the speaker is not just
2:03
talking about an insect but using it as
2:05
a symbol a symbol is something small
2:08
that stands for something big the flee
2:11
stands for the connection between the
2:13
man and the woman how little that which
2:16
thou denist me is the word thou is an
2:19
old way of saying you denist means a
2:23
refuse the man is asking the woman for
2:27
refusing it sucked me first and now
2:30
sucks thee this is about the flea the
2:33
flea bit the man first and then the
2:35
woman the is another old word for I you
2:39
the flea has taken blood from both of
2:41
them and in this flea are two bloods
2:44
mingled be this means the flea now has
2:47
both their blood inside it mingled means
2:50
mixed together the mixing of blood
2:53
symbolizes that two people are very
2:55
close it is almost like they are one
2:58
person this is the heart of his argument
3:01
he wants the woman to see they are
3:03
already connected thou knows that this
3:06
cannot be said as Sin nor shame nor loss
3:08
of Maiden head thou knowa means you know
3:12
he is telling her she understands
3:14
something he says mixing blood and the
3:16
flea is neither a sin nor a shame it is
3:20
also not loss of Maiden head Maiden head
3:24
virginity in the past virginity was very
3:27
important for women before marriage
3:30
the man says the flea mixing their blood
3:32
does not hurt her honor yet this enjoys
3:35
before it woo and pampered swells with
3:37
one blood made of two and this alas is
3:40
more than we would do yet this enjoys
3:42
before it woo means the flee gets
3:44
pleasure without asking wo means to try
3:47
to win someone's love the flea does not
3:50
need to ask it just bites and takes
3:54
blood and pampered swells with one blood
3:56
made of two a means the flea grows big
3:59
the flea has both their blood so it is
4:02
happy and this alas is more than we
4:05
would do a means the flea does more than
4:07
they do alas it shows Sadness the man is
4:11
sad because he and the woman are not as
4:13
close as the flea is to their blood let
4:16
us summarize this first stanza the
4:19
speaker points to a flea he says it bit
4:22
him and the woman their blood is mixed
4:25
inside it he argues this is not a sin or
4:28
a loss he says the flea enjoys their
4:31
blood more than they enjoy each other he
4:34
wants the woman to see they should be
4:35
closer too this stanza shows the use of
4:39
conceit a conceit is an unusual
4:41
comparison in poetry the flea is
4:46
closeness the theme Here is
4:48
persuasion a theme is the main idea of a
4:51
poem the man tries to convince the woman
4:55
another theme is love as the man wants
4:57
her love the structure is nine lines
5:00
with a rhyme the rhyme is when words
5:03
sound the same like the and B this makes
5:06
the poem sound nice now let us move to
5:10
the second stanza oh stay three lives in
5:13
one flee bear the man speaks again he is
5:18
asking the woman to pause three lives in
5:21
one flea spare I means do not kill the
5:23
flee he says the flea has three lives
5:26
his blood her blood and the flea's own
5:30
he does not want her to crush
5:32
it where we almost N More Than married
5:36
are this means they are almost married
5:39
he says they are more than married
5:41
because of the flea their blood is
5:44
together in it he thinks this is like a
5:46
wedding this flea is you and I and this
5:49
our marriage bed and marriage Temple is
5:52
he says the flea is both of them he
5:55
calls it their marriage bed and marriage
5:58
Temple this this is another conceit the
6:01
tiny flea becomes something huge and
6:04
special though parents Grudge and you w
6:07
are met parents Grudge means her parents
6:10
do not approve he says they are together
6:13
in the flea even if her parents disagree
6:16
and cloistered in these living walls of
6:21
enclosed living walls of jet means the
6:23
flea's black body the flea is alive and
6:27
holds their blood he says they are safe
6:30
inside it though use make you apt to
6:32
kill me let not to that self- murder
6:34
added be and sacrilege three sins and
6:37
killing three though use make you apt to
6:40
kill me it means her habit might make
6:42
her want to hurt him it means the habit
6:44
of the woman to often say no to him let
6:47
not to that self-murder added be it
6:49
means do not kill yourself too the
6:52
speaker says if she kills the flea she
6:54
kills him and herself because their
6:56
blood is in it and sacrilege three sin
6:59
and killing three means it is a
7:01
religious wrong sacrilege is a sin
7:04
against something holy he says killing
7:07
the flea is three sins killing him her
7:09
and the flea let us summarize this
7:13
stanza the man begs the woman not to
7:15
kill the flea he says it holds three
7:19
lives he calls it their marriage bed and
7:22
Temple he says they are united in it
7:24
even if her parents do not like it he
7:27
warns her that killing the flea is a big
7:29
sin the theme in this stanza is still
7:33
persuasion the speaker makes the flea
7:36
even bigger it is now a symbol of
7:41
continues the literary device here is
7:45
exaggeration for example the flea is
7:48
called a temple the structure is still
7:51
nine lines with rhyme like spare and are
7:54
the background shows Dawn's time
7:57
marriage and religion were serious
8:00
he uses those ideas to make his poem
8:02
strong cruel and sudden hast thou since
8:05
purpled thy nail in Blood of
8:07
Innocence this stanza shows something
8:10
happened cruel and sudden shows the
8:12
woman acted fast and harshly purpled thy
8:16
nail means her fingernail is purple with
8:18
blood it shows that the woman has killed
8:21
the flea in Blood of Innocence means the
8:23
flea was not guilty even though she was
8:26
killed the speaker is upset where could
8:29
this flea guilty be except in that drop
8:32
which it sucked from thee speaker asks
8:34
the question how was the flea wrong he
8:37
says the flea only took a tiny drop of
8:39
her blood it did not deserve to die yet
8:43
thou triumphs and sayest that thou finds
8:46
not thyself nor me the weaker now thou
8:49
triumphs to means you win she feels
8:52
strong because she killed the flea she
8:54
says that killing the flea did not hurt
8:57
them is true then learn how false fears
9:00
be just so much honor when thou yields
9:02
to me will waste as this flea's death
9:04
took life from thee is true a means it
9:07
is true the speaker agrees with her as
9:10
killing the flea did not make them
9:12
weaker then learn how false fears be
9:15
means her worries are not real just so
9:18
much honor when thou yields to me will
9:20
waste means giving in to him will not
9:22
ruin her honor as this flea's death took
9:25
life from thee means the flea's death
9:27
did not take much from her he says
9:29
loving him is the same and it is not a
9:31
big loss let us summarize this stanza
9:35
the woman kills the flea the man asks
9:39
why she did it she says it did not harm
9:42
them and he agrees the woman means that
9:45
her fears about him are wrong and loving
9:47
the man would not hurt her honor in this
9:49
stanza the theme is still
9:52
persuasion the man twists the
9:54
situation the flea's death becomes his
9:57
new argument the symbol of the flea
10:00
changes now it shows fears are small the
10:04
literary device is irony irony is when
10:07
something unexpected happens she kills
10:10
the flea but it helps his point the
10:13
structure is nine lines with rhyme like
10:15
the and B the background ties to honor
10:20
in Dawn's time women worried about
10:22
losing honor the poet plays with that
10:25
idea the poem is about a man who loves a
10:29
however she says no he uses a flea to
10:33
argue it bites them both he says their
10:37
blood is mixed so they are close she
10:40
kills the flea he says this proves her
10:43
fears are wrong he wants her to love him
10:47
the analysis of the flea by John Don
10:50
cleverness he uses the flea as a conceit
10:54
the themes are love persuasion and honor
10:59
persuasion is his tool honor is her
11:03
worry the symbol is the flea it means
11:06
Union marriage and small fears literary
11:10
devices are conceit Hyperbole and irony
11:14
the structure is three stanzas nine
11:16
lines each with rhyme thank you for
11:19
watching this video on analysis of the
