This is an analysis of the poem The Flea that begins with:

Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deny'st me is;... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: abccXXddd eeabffcccXaaccddccc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 9,19,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 11011100 1101111010 01111111 1001111100 110101001 0111110100 10010101 1101011101 1001011111 11110111 1111111101 01011110 1101110100 110111111 1100110101 11111011 1101110100 1100110101 10110111 1011010100 01101100 0101110101 11111011 1110110101 11111110 1111011101 0110111101
  • Amount of stanzas: 3
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 371
  • Average number of words per stanza: 71
  • Amount of lines: 27
  • Average number of symbols per line: 40 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; this, and are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word and is repeated.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of The Flea;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by John Donne