Question

Read these lines from "The Flea" by John Donne and answer the questions that follow:

Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is;
Me it sucked first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;

Thou know'st that this cannot be said
A sin, or shame, or loss of maidenhead;

And pampered swells with one blood made of two;
And this, alas, is more than we would do.

Question 1
Part A
Rewrite the lines in a plain style that is easy to understand.

Answer 1

"Mark but this flea, and mark in this,

How little that which thou deniest me is;

Me it sucked first, and now sucks thee,

And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;"

Summary:

pay attention to this little thing

it sucked for me not it sucks for you

now are joined

"Thou know'st that this cannot be said

A sin, or shame, or loss of maidenhead;"

Summary:

the little thing is bad

"And pampered swells with one blood made of two;

And this, alas, is more than we would do."

Summary:

2 became 1 and its more than it should be

"And pampered swells with one blood made of two;

And this, alas, is more than we would do."

SUMMARY:

because 2 became 1 it a big deal

Answer 2

"The Flea" by John Donne is a poem that talks about the concept of love. The flea is symbolic of the love that the two characters have for each other.

“The Flea” poem summary

The above answer is discussed in further detail as given below:

• The poet is drawing a comparison between the flea and the mixing of their blood inside the flea with having physical relations.

• He says that them being together is not a sin and there is no loss of honor involved in them being together physically.

Therefore, the poem talks about physical relations by symbolizing it through a flea.

Learn more about the poem “The Flea” here:

https://brainly.com/question/11917040