Consider "The Flea" as an anti-Petrarchan poem ( MEG 101 ) ( STUDY OF JOHN DONNE )

John Donne's poem "The Flea" can be considered an anti-Petrarchan poem in several ways. The Petrarchan tradition of love poetry, which originated in Italy and was imitated by many English poets, celebrated a courtly love that was unattainable and idealized the beloved woman as a goddess. In contrast, "The Flea" portrays a more realistic, physical and earthy view of love.

Firstly, the poem can be seen as a rejection of the Petrarchan ideal of unattainable love. In the Petrarchan tradition, the lover is supposed to suffer in silence and pursue his lady with the hope of winning her love, but in "The Flea," the speaker is not content with this traditional approach. Instead, he tries to persuade the woman to consummate their love by using the flea as an argument. This emphasis on physicality and bodily pleasure is a departure from the Platonic idealism of Petrarch's poetry.

Secondly, the poem can also be seen as a rejection of the Petrarchan ideal of the beloved woman as a goddess. In Petrarch's sonnets, the beloved woman is often depicted as an unapproachable, ethereal figure, who is exalted above mortal concerns. In contrast, the flea becomes a symbol of the physical union between the speaker and his mistress. The flea, a common and unremarkable insect, is used to undermine the idealized image of the woman, suggesting that she is just as mortal and earthbound as the speaker himself.

Finally, the poem can also be seen as a rejection of the Petrarchan poetic conventions. The conceit of the flea, which dominates the poem, is a striking example of the kind of elaborate and fanciful metaphors that were typical of the Petrarchan tradition. However, Donne's use of the flea as a metaphor is ironic, as he subverts the conventional notion of the flea as a lowly and repulsive insect, and transforms it into a symbol of sexual union. This is a clear departure from the Petrarchan tradition, which used conceits to idealize the beloved and celebrate her beauty.

In conclusion, "The Flea" can be seen as an anti-Petrarchan poem in its emphasis on physicality, rejection of idealized love, and subversion of poetic conventions. Donne's poem represents a break from the courtly love tradition of Petrarch, and prefigures a new, more realistic, and direct approach to love poetry.