Compare and Contrast Donne’s Poems the Flea and a Fever Essay Example

associate love with death.

In The Flea, the symbol of love which Donne depends on it in his argument is killed by his beloved. Because this flea has the two lovers blood, they die with it.But in A Fever, his love dies with the death of her as he declares in the first line "…for I shall hateAll women so, when thou art gone". So, love in both poems is associated in somehow with death.

The second obvious difference between the two poems is the picture of women through each poem. In The Flea, woman is presented to be cruel and careless. She has insignificant role in the poem who tends to be controlled and ordered. Through the poem he chooses her to be silent, but she exists only where is a crime; which is killing the 'innocent, holy' flea.The poet makes her a passive character who follows the other's orders.

The completely opposite image of women is found in A Fever. Donne considers his beloved as something scared that by her death the entire world will die. Even more, he sees with her existence the world become "carcass"…'tis but thy carcase then,'. In this poem, Donne shows more respect for a woman than he does in The Flea.

Another thing should be compared in these poems is the structure. Both poems' structure consistent with their meanings and effects.The Flea was written in three stanzas, each one has nine lines and ends with triplet rhymed as aabbccddd. This gives the poem more powerful effect help the poet in his argument. He speaks about three characters, three lives, three murders, so it is three stanzas consist

of three threes lines. Each one of those stanza presents a stage, a different part of the poet's argument.

That will be more convincing. In A Fever, it consists of seven stanzas rhymed as abab, which gives the poem a sad musical tone compatible with the topic of the poem.Also, the poem's building in that way gives the reader a feeling of passing death's stages and the poet's suffering and agony through this as he describes what she means to him. So, in different structures, Donne conveys his feelings and attitudes to the readers.

Finally, it is clear that Donne represents a different person in each poem. However, he deals with the same topic- love- he conveys completely different feelings. For The Flea, it is physically, with no true feelings of love, while in A Fever it is emotionally, which touches the one heart.