War is Kind - Stephen Crane
Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind
Because your lover threw wild hands towards 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 tumbled 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 !
Glossary
• Affrighted- frightened
• Steed- horse
• Hoarse- harsh/ rough
• Booming- deep/ loud
• Drill- military training
• Regiment- permanent unit of an army
• Glory- fame/ honor
• Corpses- dead bodies
• Tumbled- fell down
• Trenches- a narrow ditch which is long
• Gulped- took the last breath
• Swift blazing flag- flag shining brightly
• Crest- symbol
• Virtue of slaughter- the killing positivity
• Excellence of killing- the talent of killing
• Bright splendid shroud- bright magnificent cloth used to wrap the dead body
Notes on the poem.
• Was published in 1899, less than a year before he died.
• The subject of the poem is war and its effects.
• 26-line poem in five stanzas.
• Focusing on the emotional loss of three women whose lover, father, and son, respectively, have died
in war.
• Crane's detailed snap shots of the dead men in the first, third, and fifth stanzas evoke the savagery
of war and its inherent cruelty.
• The second and fourth stanzas function as the poem's chorus, and provide more generalized
images of war.
• The poet sympathizes with the victims of war and he is cynical about the ulterior motives of war.
• He also implicitly criticizes and satirizes the romantic heroism expected and exhibited by the
young people.
Themes
• Natural law: In “War is Kind,” Crane emphasizes the psychological torment that dying
soldiers and their loved ones endure instead of focusing on their heroic or patriotic
behavior.
• Patriotism: “War is Kind” implicitly questions the usefulness and validity of patriotism
as an attitude and an ideology.
• Futility of War: Crane frames the United States as not only sinister but uncaring and
cruel, as it offers those who died fighting for it no solace.
Techniques
1. Title of the poem
➢ War is kind is the title of the poem. It ironic and oxymoronic. It is also the last line of the refrain.
2. Form
➢ There are five stanzas in the poem. There is no uniformity of the number of the lines in each stanza or
the length of the lines.
3. Irony / Sarcasm
• Verbal Irony
Verbal irony is a major literary device throughout the poem. Verbal irony means the exact opposite of the
normal meaning of a statement or an utterance. Stephen Crane uses verbal irony in his poem "War is Kind."
"War is Kind" is not only the title of the poem; it is also its refrain, as it is repeated five times. The verbal irony
highlights cruelty and brutality of war, not about its kindness. In other words, the repetition of "Do not weep,
War is kind" is used ironically to give a negative attitude to the glorification of war.
Other verbal irony is found in lines 20 and 21 in which Crane juxtaposes contradictory ideas; "the virtue of
slaughter" and "the excellence of killing." These phrases also can be taken as oxymoron. An oxymoron is a
combination of contradictory words.
• Situational Irony
In the last line of the second stanza the poet says "Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom" corpses lie"
being the victims of war.
This land is divine because it is the great kingdom of the god of war. But it is ironic that "a thousand corpses
lie”.
• Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony means the things or events which are understood by the audience or the readers but not the
characters or the people involved in the situations. Dramatic irony is used throughout this poem. The young
soldiers have "thirst for fight" without understanding the grim realities and
attitude and trust upon victory.
horrendous aspects of war. Further they think of war in terms of the "Battle-God" giving a divine attitude.
4. Similes
The similes used in these two lines,
"Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son," appeal to our emotions, and direct us to feel as the poet feels.
5. Paradox
Paradox is a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality, expresses a
possible truth. Let's see whether these two lines can be considered paradoxically containing a truth
despite its contradiction.
"Excellence of killing" is ironic of course in the eyes of the maiden, the son and the
mother because the killing of their loving ones is not excellent for them, but for those in command of a
war or for the ambitious war makers, killing is excellent and slaughter of enemies is virtuous as well. In
that sense, these lines contain a truth. Therefore, these phrases can be considered paradoxical.
6. Use of Symbols
In the poem, war symbolizes death. Throughout the poem, the poet does not reveal about war victories,
but he focuses on the loss of beloved ones like a lover, a father and a son conveying ill - effects of war. For
example, the poet says,
"These men were born to drill and die" and "A field where a thousand corpses lie."
Further, the poet says, "Swift blazing flag of the regiment, Eagle with crest of red and gold." The flag
depicted in the line symbolizes the glory of war. Nevertheless, "These men were born to fight and die"
expresses the view that despite all the imagined glories of war, in the end, the soldiers are simply pawns
of a deadly game.
7. Metaphors
The young soldiers are compared to little souls. The poet refers "little' for young 'souls' for men who fight
on the battle field.
8. Tone
The tone of the poem is highly sarcastic and dark.
