John Donne, considered one of the most spiritual poets of the 17th century, wrote the metaphysical poem "The Flea" and the religious poem "Saint Sonnet 14". In both poems, Donne explores the two opposing themes of physical and sacred love; in his love poem "The Flea", he depicts the speaker as an immoral human being who only cares about pleasing himself, whereas as in his sacred poem "Holy Sonnet 14", Donne depicts the speaker as a noble human being because he is anxious. to please God. In the book The Divine Poems, the writer Helen Gardner supports this fact by stating: "Her Creator is more powerfully present to the imagination in her divine poems than any mistress is in her love poems." (page 2). Overall, it seems that these two poems operate on many different levels, as the rhyme scheme in both poems varies from iambic tetrameter and pentameter to Petrarchan sonnet form. Donne uses wit as well as complex paradoxes, which symbolize the strong opposing impulses at play in his poetry, and abstract conceits to further complicate the subject matter of his two poems. This is obvious to the reader since in "The Flea", Donne presents the notion of carnal love through religious expressions, while as in "Holy Sonnet 14", he depicts the notion of divine love through sexual expressions . Therefore, Donne does a great job of revealing the fact that in “The Flea” the speaker seems arrogant, selfish, and disrespectful towards women. He is self-centered and only cares about satisfying his sexual urges, while the speaker of "Holy Sonnet 14" appears as a humble human being, concerned with pleasing God. John Donne deliberately makes his metaphysical love poem "The Flea" light. - heart using humor middle of paper......pure is when God takes him hostage and rapes him. Therefore, in the sacred poem "Saint Sonnet 14", the speaker seems too concerned with pleasing God, which is why he addresses him with such passion and sincerity. In "Holy Sonnet 14", the speaker appears as completely spiritual and devoted to God, which suggests that devotional love is deeper and more meaningful than earthly love because the speaker possesses positive traits as he is selfless and only cares about pleasing God. While as a speaker in "The Flea", he seems to possess negative traits as he appears to be extremely inconsiderate and selfish. Bibliography Alvarez, A. The School of Donne. New York: Pantheon Books, 1961. Gardner, Helen. The Divine Poems London: Oxford University Press, 1978. Novarr, David. The muse exhumed. London: Cornell University Press, 1980.