Work for 10/10: "The Flea" by John Donne

The Prompt:  How does Donne use a conceit to develop his ideas about sex?

The poem: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/175764

To begin,  answer these questions to acquaint yourself with your poem:

1.     What can you predict about the poem based on the title?

2.     For every pronoun, draw a line back and circle the antecedent.

3.     What does Donne describe the flea doing in the first stanza?  What does he compare the flea to?

4.     Why doesn’t Donne want his audience to kill the flea?  Use textual evidence.

5.     Interpret the twist at the end. 

Here is an example of the type of paragraph I expect, using your new poem, "The Flea":

Cowley compares himself to a picture. At first, the picture represents a younger version of himself. In the second stanza, he explains how her presence brings the picture to life, making it a "substance," and he becomes a "shadow" due to her absence. However, in the final stanza we learn that the love interest does not like "substance" in a romantic partner, so she will prefer the speaker, who has become "less than" the picture - "a picture's picture." Cowley uses the conceit of a picture to show how a lover's absence will drain life out of a person, but that women who prefer less lively men will find this attractive.