A Brilliant Blend: Tactile and Visual Imagery, Elements of Diction, and Tone in Mark Jarman's "Ground Swell" Bartosz Stras

Memories, the good and the bad, shape the character of the people that we become, as Mark Jarman demonstrates in his 1997 poem, "Ground Swell." The author effectively recreates his chilly summer mornings of surfing for the reader, through use of visual and tactile imagery, vividly spoken with carefully selected expressions. Ideal use of informal diction and a contrasting tone reflects the author's emotions, and the emerging transcendent imagery engulfs the reader as a result. Imagery plays a key role in the reader's ability to empathize with Jarman and his recollection of a summer so vital to the intellectual individual that he becomes. Mark Jarman in his poem, "Ground Swell," recalls the summer that he turned sixteen, communicating his experiences to the reader through a superb blend of informal diction and a contrasting tone; supplementing tactile imagery subjects the reader to Jarman's physical and emotional consciousness.

Mark Jarman impressively draws the reader directly into the mind of a fifteen year-old boy, employing distinct visual and tactile imagery, permitting the reader to the physical experiences of a young surfer. The author's vivid images allow the reader to feel the young...