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My copy of the poem notes that "Fleas were a popular subject for jocose[humorous] and amatory[love] poetry in all countries at the Renaissance". Their popularity stems from an event that happened in a literary salon (a place where poets and others came to recite poetry and converse). The salon was run by two ladies, and on on occasion
a flea happened to land upon one lady's breast. The poets were amazed at the creature's audacity, and were inspired to write poetry about the beast. It soon became fashionable among poets to write poems about fleas.
In this poem, the "I" of the poem is lying in bed with his lover, and trying to get her to give her virginity to him. (It could, of course, quite easily be a FEMALE "I" trying to seduce a MALE, but I will stick with one for convenience). While lying there, he notices a flea, which has obviously bitten them both. Since the 17-century idea was of sex as a "mingling of the blood", he realises that by mixing their bloods together in its body,......

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Approximate Word Count: 393
Approximate Pages: 2 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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