The Conceited Flea

For my two questions, I have chosen "The Flea" by John Donne. While I'm not overly fond of this poem, I do think it useful as a teaching tool. 1) The Flea is often said to epitomize a conceit, in literary terminology what is a conceit? This is a factual question that allows them to relate literary terminology to the current the poem being read. In this way it allows them a very clear example of a literary term that they can reference. ("The Flea" is how I learned about the term.)

2) What does the Flea in John's Donne's poem represent? While this question might be seen as a factual one due to the seemingly obvious interpretation of "The Flea", this fact could lead to it being a useful tool in terms of understanding what interpretation actually is. Even in the interpretation is obvious, it's still interpretative. So while this might not provide the most interesting discussion, it does allow the teacher to provide some conceptual clarity.