The poem, "The Apparition" serves as a sequel to the poem, "The Flea," with the speaker of the first poem seeking revenge against his lover as a ghost. The betrayal and resentment between the speaker and hos lover is highlighted by the use contrasting situations such as are feeling sympathy for traditionally unsympathetic characters and wavering approval of traditional beliefs.
The main subjects of the poems are a ghost and a flea, things that are typically considered evil or invasive are both described as having innocence: "The blood of innocence" and "threatenings rest still innocent". To distance the woman further, the speaker describes her as "cruel" and "wretched". By giving otherwise unsympathetic, the speaker is antagonizing his love and making her seem more vindictive than the flea or the ghost.
The female lover in both poems is unable to please the speaker sexually even though she displays opposing behavior in the separate occasions. In "The Flea", the speaker is frustrated by his love's refusal to sleep with him, "Thou knowest that this cannot be said a sin, nor shame nor loss of maiden head". However in "The Apparition" the woman is still shunned when she herself is rejected sexually: "Think thou call's for more...thou should shouldst painfully repent". In an era when women were held to a virtuous standard, the -- emphasizes the hostility the speaker feels towards his love from how she has betrayed him.
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