"War is Kind," by Stephen Crane 1/20/12

Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind,
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die.
The unexplained glory flies above them.
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom--
A field where a thousand corpses lie.

Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbles in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.

Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind!

REACTION: The poem oscillates between five and six line stanzas with six stanzas total. It repeats certain lines over and over to stress points like ‘War is kind” and “A field where a thousand corpses lie” and “These men were born to drill and die.” This reinforces the satire throughout the whole poem by stating many of the cruelties of war and the statement that war is kind. I see no apparent rhyme scheme. I see this poem as a cry against the cruelty of war and the unjustified deaths that are a product of this cruelty.

Paraphrase: Do not weep, girl, for war is kind. Even though your boyfriend surrendered in war and his horse ran away, do not cry. War is still kind. Little boys are born to want to fight because they are told of the glory of war, but in war, men die and corpses by the thousands in fields. Do not cry, baby, because war is kind. Your father falls in trenches and dies. Don’t cry, baby; war is kind. The signs of the army are noble, and virtue is placed upon the kill, but these men are born to die in war in a field where thousands of corpses die. Mother who is upset over the death of a son, don’t cry; war is kind.

SWIFTT:

-SW: The author uses very distinct words like ‘affrighted’ and ‘excellence of killing.’ This helps play into the absurdity of the stressed point that war is kind. Also, the author switches between five and six line stanzas. There is no rhyme scheme that can be found.

-I: There is imagery when referring to the thousands of men lying dead and the yellow trenches the father will jump into and die. The sense of hearing is triggered when the author refers to the ‘booming drum.

-F: The poem uses a simile when referring to the mother’s heart when it says ‘hung humble as a button.’ Other than that simile, not much figurative language is used. This is because the author is using real examples of war to prove the point that war is, in fact, not kind.

-T: This poem has an absurd tone. The whole aim of the poems is to stress the opposite idea that is stated. This causes a crazy tone full of satire.

-T: The theme of this poem is that war is unkind and unjustified. War takes away the men from families who will mourn for them. The author repetition of the phrase “war is kind” actually stresses that war is anything but when wives, children, and mothers are openly crying and upset that men are dying.

Conclusion: My original reaction was pretty close. I saw many different key components of the poem upon the first reading. The author uses repetition to stress his theme of cruel, unjust war.  The repetition also stresses the tone within the poem that is almost absurd and laughable. From this poem, the author can voices his opinion against war and the ideas that surround it.