The Mesh
By Kwesi Brew aka Osborne Henry
We have come to the cross-roads
And I must either leave or come with you.
I lingered over the choice
But in the darkness of my doubtsYou lifted the lamp of love
And I saw in your face
The road that I should take.
Summary of The Mesh
- Popularity of “The Mesh”: The poem ‘The Mesh’ was written by Osborne Henry, a popular English poet. This poetic piece is a concise and expressive rendition. The poem first appeared in 1968 in his collection, The Shadows of Laughter. The poem instantly became a favorite because of its concise nature and universal themes that were present throughout the piece. The popularity of the poem is attributed to its succinct depiction of love illustrated through the symbolism of a pathway.
- “The Mesh” As a Representative of Love: The brief poetic form opens with a bang as the speaker tells that they have reached a critical point in their life. Either the speaker is going to leave his beloved or going to accompany her. However, it remains ambiguous whether the person in question is his beloved, friend, or another individual. The bottom line is that he possesses adoration for that individual and has arrived at a situation where he has no other alternative. Like all other people, he is also in a dilemma and stops for a while to think about it. Subsequently, he notices that the person in question is carrying a lamp, which provides a clear view of the roads, allowing him to select one. However, once more it becomes unclear which path he selects.
- Major Themes in “The Mesh”: Love, ambiguity, and decision-making skills are three major thematic strands of the poem. The love in the poem is apparent in that the poet expresses it clearly that his beloved appears with a lamp that is the lamp of love. Therefore, it points to his choice. The decision-making is also based on this point of love-making. Despite all these clarifications and pointers, the ambiguity on the person that the speaker loves and the road he chooses continues to linger. He could not clarify it and perhaps this ambiguity is the reason for the popularity of the poem.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Mesh
The use of literary devices is a necessary component of poetic or prose writing, intended to make the text appealing and attention-grabbing for readers. The analysis of these literary devices used in the poem is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /ee/ in “And I must either leave or come with you”.
- Alliteration: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /c/ in “We have come to the cross-roads”, the sound of /d/ in “But in the darkness of my doubts”.
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
You lifted the lamp of love
And I saw in your face
The road that I should take.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “We have come to the cross-roads”, “I lingered over the choice” and “And I saw in your face.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem has used the lamp and the road as metaphors of love. Another good metaphor is “But in the darkness of my doubts” where thinking is compared to darkness.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the lamp and roads as symbols of choice in life.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Mesh
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Free Verse: The poem does not follow any rhyme scheme that means it is a free verse poem.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas in the poem with each having a different number of verses or lines.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “The Mesh” are relevant to use when talking about love.
“You lifted the lamp of love
And I saw in your face
The road that I should take.”