Vaisnavi Rao

Poetry excels in presenting the intensity of love. What expressions of the intensity of love have you found in at least 2
poems you have studied and with what force have they been presented?
Detailed Plan
Sonnet 129 and the Flea (Lust)
Theme and Ideas

Physical Lust or need of sexual fulfillment in both poems is the form of love that is expressed in these two poems
In sonnet 129, The idea of lust is primitive and more of an animalistic instinct rather than an interaction between
two bodies.
Lust is something that should be feared and avoided as it is sinful
The idea of lust is considered something completely negative
The intensity of love or in this case, lust is strong but in a negative connotation. The poet considers lust as a
temptation that should hindered and feels passionately about this.
In The Flea, the feeling of lust is portrayed as something more playful and funny.
The idea of lust is not something that is negative and should be avoided, but instead it is portrayed as something
that should be encouraged.
In this poem, the poet shows that lust is not that significant and therefore, having sex is not that big of a deal.
The poet coaxes the lover who is unwilling to have sex with him by presenting a playful argument that lust is not
something that is sinful or negative and attempts to convince her to engage in premarital sex

Language and Technique

In sonnet 129, Shakespeare uses negative dictions as he describes lust as being, perjured, Murderous, bloody ,
full of blame, and not to trust.
He then goes on to describing it as an animalistic feeling that is savage and extreme. He does not consider lust
as something natural, instead he describes lust as an primal instinct that causes us humans to not reason
through our actions.
The use of a bait as a metaphor illustrates that lust is a trap that we fall into where we pursue a feeling that
gives us momentary pleasure. According to Shakespeare, this pleasure is something shameful and the journey to
pursuing overwhelms us with madness and lack of reason that causes us to act based on our emotions. (
integrate the quote- Past reason hunted, and no sooner had, past reason hated, as a swallowd bait/ Mad in
pursuit and in possession so; had, having and in quest to have , extreme; a bliss in proof , and proved , a very
woe;)
Mad in pursuit and in possession so, people are reduced to objects when they give into the feeling of lust and
in the end the feeling is not worthy of anything meaningful
In the Flea, a similar theme about sexual fulfillment is constructed in a more playful and funny manner.
This poem uses the image of a flea that has just bitten the speaker to convey the conflict of two people over the
idea of premarital sex.
The poet uses this conversation between two people (where the female lover never speaks) to convey his
perceptions towards the idea of sex by presenting his argument in a very structured manner
The poet dives into a conversation in the start of the poem illustrating his desperate attempts to convince the
lover to lose her virginity. And in this flea our two bloods mingled be, the poet plays the idea of the union
coming together through the flea.

He presents his arguments about love and attempts to persuade the lover into having the same opinion.
In this poem the intensity of love, is expressed in a playful manner and the idea of physical is considered less
significant and that engaging in such a relationship should not be considered a huge deal.
By the second stanza, the poet is trying to guard the life of the flea, which he considers to be their, marriage
bed, and marriage temple and that killing the flea would be a self- murder /and sacrilege, three sins in killing
three
In the end of the poem, as the flea is killed by the female, the poet cleverly expresses that if the act of killing the
flea is so simple and the life of the flea is insignificant, then virginity is also insignificant and should not be highly
guarded or reserved.
hinting at the erotic without ever explicitly referring to sex, while at the same time leaving no doubt as to
exactly what he means

Form and Structure

In Sonnet 129, the structure of the poem is inconsistent reflecting the anger of the poet towards this feeling of
lust. The poet expresses his hatred for lust and demeans the act all together.
He expresses his anger with no concise structure making his argument seem something that is done based on
personal motives making the poem seem self-directed due to guilt. Therefore, making the structure
inconsistent due to the angry tone that is too overwhelming.
The Flea has a standard structure of pentameter and tetrameters to carefully present the poets argument in an
orderly manner making it seem more logical and reasoned through

Sonnet 116 and The Ecstasy (Platonic Love)

Themes and Ideas

Sonnet 116 describes what love is and what it is not. In this Sonnet, Shakespeare expresses true love to be the
marriage of true minds and that the platonic love is the only true love out there.
True love in his opinion does not admit impediments.
This idea of platonic love with an absence of physical love, contrasts the idea In Sonnet 129 and The Flea. No
form of physical love is encouraged Shakespeare feels that true love is possible despite the absence of physical
love.
In the Ecstasy, Donne expresses that true love is the combination of the soul and the body and there is a need
for both in order to achieve true love.
Expounds the theme that pure, spiritual or real love can exist only in the bond of souls established by the bodies.
Donne agrees with Plato that true love is spiritual, however he disagrees with the idea that there is no need for
the physical and believes true love of the spirit is achieved through the body and the mind.

Language and Technique

In Sonnet 116 Shakespeare describes throughout the poem what love is and what it is not.
He describes love as something that does not alter when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to
remove. Saying that it does not change when facing changes and love cannot be broken down by any
obstacles.
He uses the metaphor of a guiding star to lost ships wandering barks that is not susceptible to storm, it looks
on tempest and is never shaken
He also describes what love is not; it is not susceptible to time. Loves not Times Fool.

The intensity of love in this is poem is shown through how love cannot be challenged by any external forces such
as changes and time and that if it is true love then it will have consistency and sureness.
Through this he highlights the intensity of this platonic love.
He then goes on to say that anyone who challenges this idea of platonic true love and succeeds in doing so, then
he could have never written this poem and no man has actually ever loved. The couplet illustrates the poets
passion towards his opinion of true love and how he believes that everyone should view his form of true love
the only real form of love.
The ideas of this poem supports Sonnet 129, as Shakespeare expresses his anger and hatred towards the idea of
lust and sexual fulfillment reiterating his opinion that true love can only be found through the marriage of
minds
In the Ecstasy, Donne creates a typical romantic background for the poem where the lovers embrace and
experience ecstasy.
The Ecstasy in this poem is, according to Donne, the idea of Ecstasy means a trance-like state in which the soul
leaves the body, comes out, and holds communion , and in this case, the communion of the soul and body.
Moreover, the physical union has produced an even stronger spiritual bond that is far more powerful than each
individual's soul. Donne refers the violet to tell us that the fusion of the lover's soul produces a new "abler soul"
Therefore, the intensity of love is seen as a something that cannot be measured but rather the outcome from
the fusion of two souls symbolizes how significant the love is.
The use of imagery to describe the communion of these two souls is seen through his description of the souls
leaving their bodies, leaving their bodies, sepuclchular statues which is seen as a form of vessel. These vessels
said nothing , all day. As words are not required when love is present and, the souls language is understood
even with the absence of words. Here, donnes illustrates the effect of love and highlights the intensity of the
love as a mutual understanding between two souls that can be achieved when the state of ecstasy, or
communion of body and soul is achieved.
Donne, also highlights that to achieve true love there should be equality between the two souls, though he
knew not which soul spake, because both meant both spake the same.
Donne, denies the conventional ideas of love and adopts a more realistic image of how true love is achieved.
Donnes poem that illustrates the requirement of fusion body and soul and that the physical is just as significant
contrasts with Shakespeares Sonnet 116, where he disregards the body and considers the feeling of lust to be
shamefull and Sinful.
According to Donne, The intensity of love true love is at his height, through combination of body and soul,
however, Shakerspeare, states that through the marriage of minds, pure love is achievable without giving into
lust which is a meaningful act that is not worthy.

Comparison of All

An obvious difference is visible between Donnes two poems; the Flea and The ecstasy. The form of love
expressed in the Flea is more playful and young and does not take into account platonic love.
The contast between the Flea and the Ecstasy only increases the intensity of love portrayed in the ecstasy as the
poets shift in tone and perspective towards love has grown and matured in a personal level showing the
difference between two perspectives towards love from the same individual.
Shakespeares perception towards love as being only a spiritual connection and anger towards his feeling of lust,
could indicate personal reasons such as his lack of interest in the idea of sexual fulfillment with the dark lady,
which is the affair mentioned in Sonnet 129. However, his tone in Sonnet 116 that exemplifies his satisfaction
with spiritual love with the absence of physical love indicates that all he wants or desires from love as acquired
from his relationship with his true lover, the young man.