Comparison of the poems “The Flea” and “If we must die”
Many authors use images to convey a message from their theme in their work, as well, to enhance the meaning behind their theme. In the poems “The Flea” by John Donne, and “If we must die” by Claude McKay, both authors use images of animals to convey the theme of death, but each poem uses a different approach to death, one being symbolized by two lovers being united through a flea using a metaphor, and the other being introduced by the brutality of a hog’s life by using a persona.
John Donne’s “The Flea” is a poem illustrating the metaphor of a flea to represent the sexual act and relations between a man and a woman. Portrayed through the image of the flea, which is made to seem insignificant throughout the poem, the flea goes through a “sex” journey without even knowing it. The poem maintains one speaker until the end, but has two significant characters: the speaker and his lover. While he is trying to convince his female lover to see that her virginity isn’t all that it’s hyped to be, he compares a flea to sex in the process, “It suck'd me first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea our two bloods mingled be” (line 3), this quote suggests that the flea has united the two into one. Ultimately by comparing the flea to the bond between his lover and himself, the bond that “is you and I, and this Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is” (line 12), he tries to persuade his lover that if she kills this flea, she will not only be killing that flea but she will be killing the flea, as well as herself and him; also suggesting that this flea holds a stronger bond between them than marriage because in this flea their bloods are mingled together as one. The speaker also uses a persuasive tone in the poem to enhance his reasons for his lover to realize the sexual bond they share, and once the flea faces its death, so do they, “Though use make you apt to kill me, Let not to that self-murder added be, And sacrilege, three sins in killing three” (line 16), this quote suggests the fact that the speaker is using the death of the flea as an ending process of their life. If his lover were to kill that flea, it would be the end of them and their forbidden love connection that they had shared through this flea.
As John Donne uses the image of an animal to portray his theme of death in his poem “The Flea”, Claude McKay also uses the imagery of animals to enhance his theme of death in the poem, “If we must die”, in which he expresses the anger he felt towards the racial situation of the time during 1919. McKay uses the image of the hogs to tell a story about the importance of an honorable death by using a persona; the voice and point of view of a hog, “Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs” (line 2), this quote suggests that a hog lives a life of being chased down and put into a place where there is no space to live a life, being imprisoned as if there was no reason to live. The use of the dogs in the poem suggests that the dogs are the enemies, who are imprisoning them by chasing them down and the hogs are the allies who are forced to live this brutal life. In this poem, the speaker is not thinking about death in the theoretical sense, he is actually facing it. It is not a question of whether he will die or what will happen when he dies; it is about “how” he will meet death. The speaker talks of death like a Greek hero would; death is an opportunity to show strength, nobility, and purpose. “Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!” (line 13), this quote implies the true meaning of death that the speaker portrays throughout the poem, that death is not to be feared but to be shown worthy of.
Comparing both the poems “The Flea” by John Donne, and “If we must die” by Claude McKay, the authors use a similar theme of death to convey their message of death in ways that the reader benefits by using images that the poem is entitled to create in the readers mind. The flea is an animal used in “The Flea” that creates an image of a bond that is made between two lovers, and in the poem “If we must die”, the hog is used as an image to enhance the theme of death which is looked upon as an opportunity to show bravery and strength; “Though far outnumbered let us show us brave” (line 10). Although the theme is similar in comparison of the two poems, the authors approach towards the theme of death contrasts with one another. In Donne’s poem, the flea is a sacred bond, which if destroyed, or in other words killed, will be the “end” of three lives. It has no further meaning held upon it after it is gone, however in MacKay’s poem, the hog lives a life of ”slavery” yet there is meaning put into the death of the hog. The speaker knows that death will come and is not afraid of it, rather is determined to show motivation of dyeing with honor and respect. The speaker of “The Flea” has an understanding that the flea is meant to last for a long time, which is why he persuades his lover not to “kill three lives” and commit such a sin. “And sacrilege, three sins in killing three” (line 18). This quote suggests the motif of death in the poem, being that once death occurs, there will no longer be any meaning behind what the flea holds.
Furthermore, as seen in both the poems, death is a major theme that is used to portray different meanings by using images of animals. In John Donne’s “The Flea”, death is being symbolized by two lovers being united through a flea using a metaphor, and in Claude MacKay’s “If we must die” death is being introduced by the brutality of a hog’s life by using a persona. Both authors use these different literary devices to enhance their concept and meaning behind death in each of their poems.
Works Cited

"If We Must Die by Claude McKay" Poem Hunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets. Poetry Search Engine. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/if-we-must-die/>.

"John Donne. The Flea." Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. Web. 19 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/flea.php>.