Introduction
John Donne was born in 1572 to catholic parents, converted to Anglicanism, married Anne More secretly and became Dean of St. Pauls at the age of 39. He is known as an erotically charged religious poet, whose sacred and profane poems seem equally passionate but he is also famous for his metaphysical poems. Metaphysical poetry typically had a special conceit, a metaphor like Donne’s metaphor of the compass and unites two usually opposing motives like sex and religion.
This brief introduction into the life of John Donne shows that he has a certain obsession towards both, religion and sex: as a man of the church he converted to Anglicanism and became Dean of St. Pauls, but as a lover of a woman he secretly married his beloved wife. Keeping these facts in mind I will exemplarily analyse two of Donne’s poems, namely The Flea and Elegy XX - To his Mistress going to bed to find out, whether sex and religion really are modifications of the same energy in Donne’s metaphysical poems.
The Flea
The poem consists of 3 stanzas with 9 lines each and the meter alternates between iambic tetrameter and iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is a rhyming couplet following the pattern AABBCCDDD, the final line rhymes with the final couplet.
The first hint on a common origin of sex and religion is the form of the poem. It has three stanzas but the rhyme scheme is a rhyming couplet (apart from the last line): three as an uneven number is a divine number representing the Trinity whereas two as an even number is a worldly number mirroring all profane, like Adam and Eve representing mankind. Nevertheless these modifications of the form derive from the same origin, the poem as a whole.
The three stanzas of the poem tell of a man and a woman that are both bitten by a flea. In the first stanza the flea bites the speaker first and is about to bite the woman. By doing this the flea unites their bloods in its body. In Renaissance times exchanging fluids was thought to happen when two people
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Flea
3. Elegy XX - To His Mistress Going To Bed
4. Conclusion
Objectives & Core Themes
The primary objective of this essay is to critically examine the intersection of sexuality and religion within the poetry of John Donne, specifically testing the assertion that these two seemingly contradictory forces function as variations of the same underlying energy.
- The synthesis of sacred and profane imagery in metaphysical poetry.
- The use of religious justification for erotic desire in "The Flea".
- The transformation of sexual intimacy into a spiritual experience in "Elegy XX".
- The role of seventeenth-century colonial and theological metaphors in Donne's love poetry.
Excerpt from the Book
The Flea
The poem consists of 3 stanzas with 9 lines each and the meter alternates between iambic tetrameter and iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is a rhyming couplet following the pattern AABBCCDDD, the final line rhymes with the final couplet.
The first hint on a common origin of sex and religion is the form of the poem. It has three stanzas but the rhyme scheme is a rhyming couplet (apart from the last line): three as an uneven number is a divine number representing the Trinity whereas two as an even number is a worldly number mirroring all profane, like Adam and Eve representing mankind. Nevertheless these modifications of the form derive from the same origin, the poem as a whole.
The three stanzas of the poem tell of a man and a woman that are both bitten by a flea. In the first stanza the flea bites the speaker first and is about to bite the woman. By doing this the flea unites their bloods in its body. In Renaissance times exchanging fluids was thought to happen when two people were having sexual intercourse. Therefore it is obvious that the bite that is declared as neither “A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead” (l. 6) by the speaker is an attempt to persuade the woman to have sexual intercourse with the man, what neither is “A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead”.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Provides a biographical overview of John Donne and defines the scope of the analysis regarding his metaphysical poetry and the central thesis of the essay.
The Flea: Analyzes how the poem uses the metaphor of a flea to fuse erotic desire with religious symbolism, specifically referencing the Trinity and the sacrament of marriage.
Elegy XX - To His Mistress Going To Bed: Explores the religious language used to describe the act of undressing and the transition from carnal desire to spiritual liberation.
Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings and clarifies the author's partial agreement with the statement that sex and religion are unified within Donne's poetic framework.
Keywords
John Donne, Metaphysical Poetry, Sexuality, Religion, The Flea, Elegy XX, Conceit, Sacred, Profane, Trinity, Colonialism, Spiritual, Desire, Marriage, Seventeenth-century Literature.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
The work examines how the themes of sex and religion are interwoven in the poetry of John Donne, testing the hypothesis that they are different expressions of the same energy.
Which poetic works are central to the analysis?
The analysis focuses on two specific poems: "The Flea" and "Elegy XX - To his Mistress going to bed".
What is the author's stance on the central research question?
The author partially agrees with the statement, noting that while many of Donne's poems unify sex and religion, this is not necessarily a universal rule for all his works.
What scientific approach does the author use?
The author employs a qualitative literary analysis, examining the formal structures, metaphors, and religious allusions present in the selected poems.
What does the main body of the essay cover?
The main body interprets how the speaker in each poem utilizes religious terminology to justify or elevate sexual encounters to a spiritual or sacramental level.
What are the characterizing keywords of this study?
Key terms include Metaphysical Poetry, Sacred and Profane, Colonialism, Theological Allusions, and the specific titles of the poems analyzed.
How is the concept of the Trinity used in "The Flea"?
The author explains that the three stanzas and the number of lives mentioned in the flea serve as metaphors for the divine Trinity, justifying the union of the two lovers.
Why is "Elegy XX" interpreted through the lens of colonialism?
The author highlights terms like "America" and "discovery," suggesting that the speaker’s approach to his mistress mirrors the seventeenth-century exploration and colonization of new lands.
- Quote paper
- Sabrina Middeldorf (Author), 2008, The poetry of John Donne, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/150205
