The Flea

In the First Stanza
- They are referring to the flea as conception of a fetus
- The sin and shame - happened out of wedlock (before they are engaged)
- loss of maidenhead - lost her virginity - this was a big deal, to lose before married
-pampered swells - the growth of her body  . . .stomach, hips, etc.

In the Second Stanza
- This flea or baby connects the mother and father in a way much stronger and deeper connection than that of a marriage contract.
- mariage bed and mariage temple - is talking about the bed in their house a place where they will be together
- Their parents are extremely disappointed in the act and the outcome (flea)
-cloisterd in these living walls of jet - they are stuck together in this new convent they have made even though those closest to them are completely unhappy with the entire situation.
- the situation with the baby is making the woman crabby and extremely hard to live with that the man wants to kill her
- baby is also hurting the mother but to kill it would end up killing all three - if not in reality break their hearts

3rd Stanza
- cruel and sudden hast thou since - the pregnancy is not going well mother is in a lot of pain
- purpled thy nail - mother is in a lot of pain and stress ( griping hard causing fingers to go purple)
- she doesn't want to blame the flea because even though it is the guilty on she loves it so much already because she has bore all of this pain thus far.
- except in that drop which it sucked from thee - flea is sucking the life from the mother
now the woman is in so much pain that the baby must go.
tis tue then learn how false fears be - when parents learn that they are going to lose something so close to them something that they love before it even is born means the world to them. So much that all of the other fears are nothing at all . . .nothing that compares to this
So much honor, when thou yield'st to me - parents where so proud of their soon to be little one coming into the world
will waste, as this fea's death took life from thee - the death of the flea killed the parents maybe not physically but emotionally and mentally that they feel totally lost and abandoned that they feel like giving up or life is no longer important to them.
Its funny how something so little can change the life in an instant and it can be looked at as a curse or a blessing but when it is taken away with no time to get to know it can make one feel like the world has ended!