In both Marie de France’s “Milun” and John Donne’s “The Flea,” a non-human animal (swan and flea, respectively) serves as a kind of mediator between human lovers.
Consider the ways both poems explore the relationship between human and animal. Do these poems imply a blurring between the categories of human and animal or do they re-inscribe them? What role do forms of physical contact and violence play in this relationship?
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