What is the central metaphor of John Donne's poem "The Flea"?

In John Donne's poem "The Flea," the central metaphor revolves around the intermingling of love and sexuality as exemplified through the imagery of a flea’s bite. The speaker uses the flea as a symbol to argue that the act of love and the physical intimacy it entails is akin to the mingling of their blood inside the flea. This suggests that the act of being together and the physical connection between lovers is not something to be shunned or avoided, but rather something that is natural and integral to their relationship.

Within the poem, the flea becomes a vehicle for persuading the woman of his desires. The speaker claims that since their blood has already mingled within the flea, they are essentially already united, which serves to diminish the significance traditionally placed on sexual encounters. This metaphor encapsulates Donne's exploration of the themes of love, sex, and desire, presenting them through a clever interplay of language and imagery that elevates a seemingly trivial creature into a profound symbol in the context of their relationship.

The other options do not encapsulate the primary focus of the poem. While themes such as life and death, personal freedom, and the passage of time may appear in Donne's work, they do not centralize the