Physical and Spiritual Union

As an erotic seduction poem, the primary focus of "The Flea" is sexual union: the speaker attempts to convince his beloved that her honor will not be compromised if they have sex before marriage. He uses a flea, which has bitten both of them, as an example of an innocent mixing of bodily fluids (blood from both their bodies) that mimics sexual intercourse. The argument of "The Flea" is that the speaker and the beloved are already joined physically, so any sexual relationship between the woman and the speaker is a natural consequence of the "marriage" that has occurred through the flea. Notably, Donne's argument about the flea is almost always a paradoxical one: at times, the mingling of the blood between the speaker and the beloved is a simple physical act that has no consequences for the woman's honor despite them not...