The flea全诗赏析

The flea

译文

跳蚤

注意观察这只跳蚤，就会看到

你对我的拒绝显得多么渺小；

它首先吮吸我的血液，然后轮到你，

于是我们的血液在它的体内融为一体。

你知道，这根本谈不上是一种罪孽，

也不是羞耻或是失去少女的贞洁。

然而它没有求婚就尽情享受

,

身体膨胀，对合而为一的血液过于迁就，

这一点啊，比我们的行为更胜一筹。

哦，停手，别伤害一只跳蚤中的三条性命，

我们在它体内几乎享受着比婚后更多的温情。

这只跳蚤就是你和我的共同形象，

这是我们的婚床和婚礼的殿堂；

尽管父母反对，你也不愿，我们依然相融，

并且隐居在黑玉色的活生生的墙壁之中。

尽管出于习惯你具有将我谋杀的用心，

可也不要再增添自杀和亵渎神灵

以及谋杀三条性命的三种罪行。

既然用无辜的血液将你的指甲染红，

这是一种多么残忍的出人意料的行动？

这只跳蚤究竟犯了什么样的罪孽，

无非是从你的身上吮吸了一滴血液？

而且你也以胜利者的口吻说过

你发现你我现在都没有变得更弱。

的确如此，那么，惧怕就显得毫无必要，

屈从于我，你的名誉也不会损失丝毫。

否则就虚度年华，如跳蚤之死也将你生命消耗。

主要内容

“

The

Flea”

is

a

poem

abo

ut

class

distinction,

marriage

and

struggle

between

religion

conception and physical needs.

Poetic Devices

?

Direct address: Marke but this flea...

?

Repetition: And marke in this

?

Conceits: Flea > Church > Flea

Movement Within the Poem

?

First stanza: Contemplative and whimsical

?

Second stanza: Becomes more absurd, pace gets faster

?

Third stanza: Slowing and reversal of argument.

?

Not a good idea to write down, but interesting to note that the pace of the poem follows that

of sex - a gradual build-up of intensity leading to the sudden, climactic... death of a flea.

Imagery

?

Much religious imagery:

Confesse it

one blood made of two - implies sex and/or pregnancy (ie, mother and child are the

three lives in one flea - holy trinity

cloysterd

sacrilege, three sinnes in killing three - more holy trinity imagery

blood of innocence

Generally

?

Circular argument. The flea starts and ends as nothing.

?

Hijacking of marriage ceremony. The Anglican marriage ceremony includes the lines

Man shall be joined unto his wife and they two shall be one flesh.

Compare with one blood made of two, This flea is you and I...,etc.

?

Argument gains confidence throughout the stanzas, and is then abruptly turned around.

?

Note the role of the female in this poem - her objections are never noted, just reacted to, and

she makes the most powerful statement in the poem, yet it is a non-verbal statement (her crushing

of the flea)

?

There is a lot of hyperbole in this poem, a technique that Donne often uses to make a point.

?

One blood made of two... - in Donne's time, the sex act was though to be a

bloods

alas, is more than wee would doe.

?

Purpled

thy

naile...

-

purple

was

a

very

expensive

colour,

associated

with

royalty

and

romance. Also note that in the first two lines of this stanza Donne is arguing that the death of the

flea is more important than the loss of virginity.

?

Not a good idea to use this in a formal exam, but note Me it suck'd first, and now sucks thee -

apparently in the 17th century the printed

lot like the printed

would be no

surprise... that Donne is being deliberately ambivalent here.

Analysis

Marriage and Class Distinction

?

this is a poem about an unblessed marriage

?

class distinction, the two “blood” mixed together (stanza one, line4~6)

?

used the flea as a metaphor of connection of their (fragile) marriage (stanza two, line 3~4)

?

deeply related to religious concepts. Ex. When he talks about his wife, that if she kills the

flea, that she would be commit three crimes of marriage.

?

flea as the metaphor of a fragile marriage. Because it would be easily destroyed.

?

THE change of mind: after his wife squeezed the flea, he thinks that there is no loss for

her to marry him (stanza 3.)

Religion and Sex

?

The poem that reflects the change of era- the conservative, religious value v.s. the new

values that comes with religion.

?

He

prefers

the

blood

mingled

together

as

a

connection

rather

than

sexual

intercourse,

which he thinks is a sin

中文赏析

这是邓恩被收录最多的诗篇之一。诗作以诗人向情人求爱的说话体写成，语气富有调侃，比附出乎通常想

象，推理和结论也超乎意料，典型反映了邓恩式的奇想。

诗的语气和结构富有典型的邓恩式戏剧性：第一段中，诗人 看见了那只先后叮过两人的跳蚤，便指着它

向情人证明两人的鲜血已通过一只先后叮咬了 双方的跳蚤融为一体，而血的交融则意味着生命的交融，诗

人因此推断，两人的生命已经 在事实上结合在一起了；第二段，诗人发现情人正抬手欲向跳蚤打去，便急

忙劝阻，说这 样一来，被害的就是三条性命（你、我、跳蚤）

；第三段时，对方显然已经下手，掐死了 跳蚤，

所以诗人戏谑地称对方为

“残忍”

、

“用无辜者的鲜血把自己的指甲染得红紫”

。

这时，

对方回答说，

虽然

“ 我”

的血也在它（跳蚤）体内，可我并没有因为它的死而有半分虚弱，诗人话锋一转，直 接切入主题：既然如

此，你答应我的求爱对你的名誉也不会有分毫的损失。更有意思的是 ，这样的结尾，恰好使读者恍然大悟，

在诗篇开始之前，诗人正绞尽脑汁想说服情人接受 他的求爱呢。

英文赏析

The Flea

Marke but this flea, and marke in this,

Just look at this flea

How little that which thou deny'st

me is; Me it suck'd first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;

Man

shall be joined unto his wife and they two shall be one flesh; sex as a

thou know

’

st that this cannot be said

Confesse it, this cannot be said

A sinne, or shame, or losse

of

maidenhead,

Yet

this

enjoyes

before

it

wooe,

court

a

woman;

seek

the

affection

And

pamper'd

swells

with

one

blood

made

of

two,

i

mplies

sex

and/or

pregnancy

(ie,

mother

and

child are the

And this, alas, is more than wee would stay, three lives in one flea

spare,

Stop and you spare(save) three lives

When we almost, nay more than maryed are.

This flea is you and I, and this Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is;

man and woman shall

be

one flesh

Though

parents

grudge, and

you, w'are

met,

And

cloysterd

in

these

living

walls

of

Jet.

(seeking refuge in;hidden a covent)

Though use make thee apt to kill me,

conventions

Let

not

to

this,

selfe

murder

added

bee,

And

sacrilege,

three

sinnes

in

killing

three.

Profanation;be heretical

Cruell and

sudden

violent

,

has thou since Purpled thy naile, in blood of

innocence?

purple

was

a

very

expensive

colour,

associated

with

royalty

and

romance;

virginity; the flea is an offender against her chastity

wherein could this flea guilty bee, Except

in that drop which it suckt from thee? Yet thou triumph'st, and saist that thou Find'st not thyself,

nor mee the weaker now;

'Tis true, then learne how false, feares bee; Just so much honor, when

thou yeeld'st to mee,make concession to me Will wast, as this flea's death tooke life from thee.

Just

as

the

flea’s

death

took

(so

little

life)from

thee,

so,

when

you

accept

my

proposal,

little

honour will waste( be lost or diluted)

Overall explanation

My

copy

of

the

poem

notes

that

were

a

popular

subject

for

jocose[humorous]

and

amatory[love] poetry in all

countries at the Renaissance

event

that

happened

in

a

literary

salon

(a

place

where

poets

and

others

came

to

recite

poetry

and

converse). The salon was run by two ladies, and on occasions a flea happened to land upon one

lady's breast. The poets were amazed at the creature's audacity, and were inspired to write poetry

about the beast. It soon became fashionable among poets to write poems about fleas.

In this poem, the

virginity to him. (It could, of course, quite easily be a FEMALE

I will stick with one for convenience). While lying there, he notices a flea, which has obviously

bitten them both. Since the 17-century idea was of sex as a

that by mixing their bloods together in its body, the flea has done what she didn't dare to do.

Then, he argues, since the flea has done it, why shouldn't they? To back up his argument, he refers

to the marriage ceremony, which states that

since

they

have

mingled

their

bloods

and

are

therefore

blood

they

are

practically

flesh

Not only does that reinforce his seduction argument, but it also provides ammunition for him to

defend

himself

when

the

female

does

the

next

logical

thing

and

moves

to

kill

the

flea.

Donne

argues that by spilling his blood and hers by killing the flea, she is practically committing murder.

Not only that, but by breaking the holy bond of marriage she is committing sacrilege!

However,

the

flea

finally

is

killed,

and

the

poet

is

forced

to

change

tactics.

There,

he

argues,

killing the flea was easy, and as you say it hasn't harmed us - well, yielding to me will be just as

easy and painless.

This poem borrows a lot of religious imagery, because it helps add an absurd authority to the poem,

as Donne tries to argue that what they are about to do is not only supported by God, but to not do

it would be heretical.

first stanza

In this stanza we learn the situation.

A man is talking to his lover.

A flea has bitten him and is

now biting his lover.

He says that because their blood has been mixed in the flea it is like that

they have already have had sex.

(In this time they believed that when people had sex their blood

was mixed).

Because there is nothing wrong with their blood being mixed in the flea, they might