The women Donne is going after won't acknowledge any of his arguments and tells him no each time. They may be both in an intellectual debate, however, this woman is denying Donne what he wants from her, which is sex. The woman goes as far as squashing the flea to emphasise her disinterest in sex, because she also doesn't want to lose her virginity, which could ruin her chances at marriage. This is emphasised through all the changes of meter, showing the pairs enharmonic debate.