Instructions: select the correct text in the passage.
which lines in this excerpt suggest the physical union of the lovers?
the flea
by john donne (excerpt)
mark but this flea, and mark in this,
how little that which thou deniest me is;
me it sucked first, and now sucks thee,
and in this flea our two bloods mingled be;
thou know'st that this cannot be said
a sin, or shame, or loss of maidenhead;
yet this enjoys before it woo,
and pampered swells with one blood made of two;
and this, alas, is more than we would do.
nextreset

The corect answers and the lines in this excerpt that suggest the physical union of the lovers in John Donne's "The Flea" are:

And in this flea our two bloods mingled be; Thou know'st that this cannot be said - On these lines, the blood mixed in the flea symbolizes the intermingling of bodily fluids during sexual intercourse.

And pampered swells with one blood made of two; And this, alas, is more than we would do - this fragment tells us that the actual intercourse has not taken place, and the poetic voice is trying to convince his lover that since their blood - symbolizing physical union - has already mixed in the flea, there would be no dishonour in engaging in their actual physical union.

rhetoric is the art of effective, persuasive speaking or writing.