War is Kind

War is Kind

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 Impression-
War cannot ever be kind, so the writer is must obviously be providing a deeper meaning to the poem by titling it “War is Kind.” The writer seems to be talking about the absurdity of war while also taking on a promising, cheerful tone. The writer is very cynical and calls war “kind” because that is the direct opposite of war. The issue of poem is not about the kindness of war. Rather, the poem is about the obliterating nature of war and the way humans accepted war as a resolution. Although the author continues to say “war is kind,” he also continually lists the harsh nature of war, without ever blatantly stating that war is not kind.

Paraphrase-
Do not cry, maiden, as war is kind. Do not cry because your lover threw his hands in the sky before dying and his horse came back alone. War is kind.
The soldiers march their little souls into war; these soldiers fight and die. They don’t understand the meaning of Glory. God watches his kingdom fill with corpses.
Do not cry, as war is kind. Your father dies from getting hurt in the chest and retreating into the trenches. Still, do not cry, for war is kind.
With their flag they proudly wave, these soldiers are meant only to fight and die. Explain to the troops the glory they receive in fighting and killing, and make them understand the reason for the death of the dead who lay in front of them.
As the mother sees her dead son, she is upset but proud. Do not cry. War is kind!

SWIFTT-
SW: There are five stanzas and no noticeable rhyme scheme. The author uses repetition by constantly saying “war is kind” and “do not weep.” Using words like battle-god make the readers think about the archaic nature of war.
I: Crane’s diction creates powerful imagery about the gruesome nature of war. He says, “ragged at his breast, gulped, and died.” This creates an image of a helpless man in the midst of war, afraid because of the inevitability of death. Crane further depicts war through stark images of a battle field: “A field where a thousand corpses lie.”
F: Crane uses personification when he say, “glory flies above them.” When Crane says this, he is giving meaning to the abstract concept of glory.
T: The tone of the passage is sarcastic. Crane says that war is kind, but subsequently describes the harshness of war and the losses that result from war.
T: The theme of the story is that war is miserable and meaningless.

Conclusion-
My initial reaction to the meaning poem is nearly the same as my conclusion: war is not kind. Now, after analyzing the poem, I see that the writer is extremely contempt with war. While men march into their deaths, women lose their husbands, sons, and fathers. The loss of war goes far beyond the battlefield, as families are gravely affected by their dead loved ones. Crane implies that war should not continue and that war should be avoided. He asks for the audience to explain to the soldiers why war is just: “Point for them the virtue of slaughter.” He knows that it is impossible to virtuously fight in war; so, by telling people to point out the virtues of war, he is letting people find out for themselves that there is no virtue in soldiers killing and being killed during war.
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