Stephen Crane’s “War Is Kind”

Text:
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!


Initial Reaction:
The first thing I recognize about "War Is Kind" is the irony in the title. The poem discusses the death of soldiers and the effect this has on their loved ones--a topic which clearly does not portray any sort of kindness in war. War presents soldiers with brutal conditions and often results in a high death count, and I think Crane is trying to portray the message that we should avoid war.

Paraphrasing:
Do not cry, lady, for war is kind,

Because your lover put up his arms and died

And his horse continued on without him,
Do not cry.

War is kind.

Loud drums of the troops,

Men ready for the fight,

These men were raised to serve and to die.

The flag flies about their heads.

Powerful if the god of warrior, and his kingdom--

A battlefield covered in corpses.

Do not cry, girl, for war is kind.

Because your father was wounded in war,

Swallowed and died,

Do not cry.

War is kind.

Army flag,

An eagle with a red and gold crest,

These men were raised to serve and to die.

Prove to them the honor of death,

Explain to them how killing can be good

And a battlefield covered in corpses.

Mother whose heart was filled with sadness

Upon seeing her son under the cloth at his burial,

Do not cry.

War is kind!

SWIFTT:
Syntax/Word Choice:

"War Is Kind" contains four stanzas of varying lengths and meter. The first, third, and last stanzas are of similar structure; they address the loved ones of victims of war and tell them not to weep because "war is kind." The second and fourth stanzas similarly talk about the army as a whole and the result of battle--a field covered in the corpses of soldiers. Crane uses diction to appeal to the readers' senses. For example, "hoarse, booming drums of the regiment" allows the reader to almost hear the drums booming, loud, drawing nearer. "War Is Kind" also included numerous phrases containing imagery.

Imagery:

Crane explicitly describes the soldier's death in the first stanza in order to allow the reader to visualize the soldier in his final moment of life. Also, the reader can picture the "field where a thousand corpses lie" and the "swift blazing flag of the regiment, / Eagle with crest of red and gold," flying above (11, 17-18).

Figurative Language:

There are several examples of figurative language in "War Is Kind." Alliteration is evident in several lines of "War Is Kind" and is best displayed in lines 23-24: "Mother whose heart hung humble as a button / On the bright splendid shroud of your son."  A simile is present in the phrase "humble as a button," and repetition is common throughout the text. "Do not weep / War is kind" is repeated at the end of the first, third, and last stanzas, whereas the phrases "These men were born to drill and die" and "A field where a thousand corpses lie" are duplicated in the second and fourth stanzas.  Nevertheless, irony is the most important form of figurative language in "War Is Kind." The phrase "war is kind" is ironic because obviously, war is not at all kind, and Crane supports this assertion.

Tone:

The tone of "War Is Kind" is ironic. Although Crane says war is king, he describes the death of the soldiers, which he implies is for an "unexplained" cause, and uses words such as "slaughter" and "killing" to convey a sense of horror and violence (20, 21).

Theme:
The theme of "War Is Kind" is the violence of war and its affect on others.

Conclusion:

After analyzing "War Is Kind," I found my initial impression to be close to correct. In fact, Crane implies that wars--which are often unjust and fought for trivial causes--often end in a high death count, leaving the loved ones of those victims in despair. I still believe that Crane is against war and is using poetry to spread his anti-war ideals.