... of it." John Donne Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation 17 Ann's father, Sir George More, was furious when he became aware of the secret marriage. It was the tradition at the time that the family arranged marriages. Also, Ann was only sixteen or seventeen at time and Donne was twenty nine ... annulled. It was during this time period that Donne supposedly wrote his "sad letter to his Wife" that contained the following well known line: "John Donne, Anne Donne, Un-done." Bald, however, in his account of the marriage notes that the pun on Donne's name was probably not his at all. .....

• Word Count: 776
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

METAPHYSICAL CONCEITS IN DONNE"S "THE RELIC" In most, if not all, of his works, John Donne uses the concept of "metaphysical conceits" to extensively compare one thing to another. "The Relic" is no exception. Donne typically uses the title of each of his works as a vehicle by which this conceit is portrayed ... (i.e., "The Flea") and thus creates a sort of double meaning for it. In "The Relic", Donne ... would value the possession of their souls, as one would value a priceless relic. And it is in this description that yet another of Donne's metaphysical conceits becomes clear. Donne also uses...

• Word Count: 522
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Virginity: the key to seduction in John Donne's "The Relique" In John Donne's "The Relique," he uses a metaphysical conceit to explore the vastness of the spiritual love which the speaker shares with ... miracles of his love. In conjunction with allusions to Jesus, this might mean that he would be completing some form of a bible. Clearly, Donne furthers his conceit with the aforementioned religious associations; he makes the grave digging procedure exemplify his spiritual love not only through people's adoration, but ... also through holy implications. In spite of everything, Donne uses para...

• Word Count: 1029
• Approx Pages: 4

Violent imagery in a holy sonnet: Batter my heart, three-personed God In John Donne's "Batter my heart, three-personed God ," the speaker is in despair about his ability to be chaste. He knows that he loves God and wants to be loved in return. ... from the enemy. He uses "again" here, indicating that he has sinned before and is asking God to liberate him again. The marriage idea is a metaphor and another conceit that Donne uses in the poem. The speaker's conflict apparently is about his efforts to be chaste and the impossibility of being good in the face of worldly temptations. The language ...

• Word Count: 750
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... or emotions that are difficult to describe or imagine. "Transcendent" symbols are symbols which have no logical or realistic connection to the things they symbolize. Much of the imagery in John Donne's poem "The Flea" is transcendent imagery which is used to illustrate an argument. In the first stanza, the narrator tries to persuade his girlfriend to have sex with him by ... ...

• Word Count: 780
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... other subject. To fall in love: to become enamored of or sexually attracted to another is the Webster's definition. In John Donne's poems this seems to be the case. In "The Flea," Donne expresses his wish to bed his beloved in a subtle way. He mixes spirituality and sex into one as he expresses ... this talk, that has experienced falling in love, would not be shocked of this exchange. They have come together as a whole both physically and spiritually. Donne has once again connected sex and spirituality when talking about love. "The Flea" and "The Ecstasy" both talk about two lovers engagi...

• Word Count: 1881
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

John Donne uses a flea, blood, and the murder of the flea as cunning metaphors for the most established ancient ritual, intercourse. Through the use of symbolic images Donne is not only analyzing the power of virginity but also the significance of premarital sex and intercourse as it exists in life. The speaker uses the flea as a cunning tool ... sexual plea but also supplies him with a strong influence to help defend him when his lady does what any rational woman would do; she attempts to kill the flea. Here Donne expresses the fact that by squashing the flea she is spreading the speaker's ...

• Word Count: 1307
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

God's Gifts Analysis of the poem The Flea John Donne, a poet of the renaissance has produced many lusty and sexual poems. One of his many poems is called "The Flea" which introduces a character whose main goal is to bed his ... for having premarital sex. The speaker wants to convey to the mistress that sex is just as thoughtless, easy and unremorseful as it was for her to kill the flea. John Donne's character in this poem is very determined to bed his mistress by applying his wits instead of by force. The speaker does not shower his mistress with compliments and words ... ...

• Word Count: 1163
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School