The Flea (Leaving Cert English): Quizzes
📚Quizzes
Practise the questions
15 questions from this quiz
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Practise the questions
15 questions from this quiz
What poetic tradition does 'The Flea' belong to?
What poetic tradition does 'The Flea' belong to?
Carpe diem
Between which years was 'The Flea' written?
Between which years was 'The Flea' written?
1595 and 1615
What three concerns does the speaker address in stanza one?
What three concerns does the speaker address in stanza one?
Sin, shame, loss of maidenhead
How many stanzas does the poem have, mirroring the Trinity?
How many stanzas does the poem have, mirroring the Trinity?
Three stanzas of nine lines
What did 'kill' mean in 17th-century slang?
What did 'kill' mean in 17th-century slang?
Sexual intercourse
What did 'die' commonly refer to in Renaissance literature?
What did 'die' commonly refer to in Renaissance literature?
Orgasm
What symbolic progression does the flea undergo?
What symbolic progression does the flea undergo?
Marriage bed to marriage temple
What three meanings does blood symbolise in the poem?
What three meanings does blood symbolise in the poem?
Physical essence, erotic fluid, sacred
What is a metaphysical conceit?
What is a metaphysical conceit?
Elaborate parallels between disparate things
What triple meaning does 'waste' carry in the final stanza?
What triple meaning does 'waste' carry in the final stanza?
Honour destroyed, virginity lost, semen
What does consubstantiality explain in Trinity doctrine?
What does consubstantiality explain in Trinity doctrine?
Three persons sharing one divine essence
What does it mean that the flea 'enjoys before it woo'?
What does it mean that the flea 'enjoys before it woo'?
It gains access without courtship rituals
How is the poem's tone best described?
How is the poem's tone best described?
Playful and serious simultaneously
What does 'three lives in one flea' directly allude to?
What does 'three lives in one flea' directly allude to?
The Holy Trinity
How does the speaker use proportional arguments?
How does the speaker use proportional arguments?
Shifts from 'how little' to 'more than'