War is Kind is a poem written by 19th century journalist and author, Stephen Crane. In this poem, Crane shows the grief experienced by families who lost members in war and puts an ironic twist on war by calling it “kind”, when clearly, it is not. The poem reflects many universal themes of Civil War literature, such as the effects of warfare, the grief experienced by soldiers loved ones, and how patriotism is closely related to death and there is no sense in fighting for it. To begin, the first, third, and fifth stanzas of the poem demonstrate the grief felt by members of a family, when a soldier dies. In the first stanza, a wife is grieving after the loss of her husband. This is shown in lines 1 and 2 when the poem says, “Do not weep, maiden,
This is the poem that Jim Northrup wrote about war. I am going to Explicate the poem and
Although the concepts of love and war seemingly consist of very contrasting aspects, the horror of war forms fraternal love and camaraderie. This is demonstrated through the Persian Gulf war poem ‘Beach Burial’ by Kenneth Slessor, where war and death is seen as agonizing and traumatic but also as a chance to come together. At first, the brutality and destructiveness of war is exhibited in the irony, ‘The convoys of dead sailors come,’ describing the soldiers as if they were ships in a fleet to reflect on how war affects individuals’ lives. This powerful line epitomises how you must love something enough to be prepared to die for it. The feeling of patriotism and fellowship indicates how love and war, however paradoxical, are intertwined with
These soldiers are struggling to maintain their bravery and pride in these deadly times. In “War is Kind” by Stephen Crane, he expresses that these men march on without having a chance to look back, and the grim image he creates is a “field where a thousand corpses lie” (22). All the death they see daily is not unexpected. The authors include imagery in their writings to show how each man comes to battle to either win or to die. However in “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, Owen shows that the men were actually
Symbols are often proposed to help get the audience to question themselves and the way they think. An example of a Symbolism what do you consider to be the value of life and how they present it in a story? Many people will say life is greater than anything else on Earth, but then why do people go around smashing bugs or destroying trees or getting abortions? “Scholars would talk about symbolism in writing, but no one had asked the writers.” At any state, many other people are forced to consider that their view on the subject is. Stephen Crane most definitely plays with rhetorical questions and the symbols that follow those questions, especially in The Red Badge of Courage and An Episode of War.
Since the emergence of written history, many fables regarding war have encompassed a significant portion of prosodic literature. Two of the foremost war poets of the 19th and 20th century—Emily Dickinson and Rupert Brooke—have both written about profound implications of war on society and also upon the human spirit albeit in two very different styles. The book, Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, theorizes through Allie, that Emily Dickinson was indubitably the superior war poet. Furthermore, when we analyze their works as well, we realize the invariable fact that Dickinson’s work delves into war with a much more holistic approach as well. She not only honours the soldiers for their valiant efforts, but also deftly weaves notions of liberty and civilian duty in regards to war as well as compared to Rupert Brooke who carried a romanticized imagery of martyrs within his poetry. In summation, Emily Dickinson is a superior war poet for her incisive analysis of death, and human nature in correspondence to war as compared to the patriotic salvos of Rupert Brooke’s poetry.
None of them wished to die, but many would inevitably rest on "a field where a thousand copses lie" (11). Crane next describes a father who "raged at his breast, gulped and died" (14) to further highlight the pain of death and loss caused by a war. Just as the woman lost her lover, a child lost her father and neither man died willingly or peacefully. Both men rather struggled and raged against death. Through such graphic imagery, Crane shows the reader a glimpse of the pain inherent in war.
“War Is Kind” writes, “Swift blazing Flag of the regiment, eagle with crest of the red and gold, These men were born to drill and die” (Crane). Even though this is not necessarily talking about any war today’s soldiers do not know if they are gonna die and they are honored for their bravery and sacrifice. Also in “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” (Crane). At this part of the poem, it is trying to say that these men are leaving their wives, family, and kids to fight for the country. Society views soldiers now as heroes because of their sacrifice and bravery. No one is making them fight they are risking their lives for people who can not fight for themselves. Americans are extremely grateful for our
In war, each side sees the other as a faceless enemy that they feel no remorse for killing. War time propaganda and nationalism led each country to villain their opponents even though they are all equal. Every soldier is a regular citizen who is fighting the war only to protect their family. In the poem “The Man He Killed,” Thomas Hardy’s diction choice, syntax, and cyclical structure convey the idea that the people on both sides of the war are equal.
War is an action which causes grave impacts to those who come into contact to it. There is nothing positive that comes out of war. To one side it is a sorrowful grievance while the other side is a bitter sweet victory. Ernest Hemmingway’s Soldier’s Home portrays what soldiers feel when they come home, trying to return to their pervious selves. In conjunction to Hemingway, Carl Sandburg’s poem, Grass, demonstrates what the land as well as the civilians react to war occurring.
Prior to watching the video “In sickness and in wealth”, I knew that there were many facets that played a role in why many people are sick, ill, or have a short life expediency, such as genetics, status, lifestyle, behaviors, etc. But, it was surprising to me that a country like America, who is portrayed as the “wealthiest country in the world”, and Is supposed to represent good health; and have spent so far, over a trillion dollars on health care, have such poor health. In America, according to the video, we live shorter and sicker lives than many industrialized countries, we are ranked 30 in life expediency, and that number keeps on getting higher. It makes me wonder if it's reversible or what type of the major steps as a country we have
In “September, 1918”, Amy Lowell shows her readers an interesting and illuminating poem. That war can be an ugly time and the people that experience it often seems to live in a “broken world” (19). To fight an evil, sometimes war is needed, nonetheless it is still costly to the people living through the war. Some in a literal sense, like soldiers fighting in a war, while some in a physical sense by the world that they now see and live in. I find the poem truly interesting though, in how the author shows that even in war we can still hold onto hope for more promising days. Lowell portrays a melancholy mood throughout her poem that makes her readers thinking about war but also the hope of it being over.
Crane, Stephen. “An Episode of War.” Great Short Works of Stephen Crane. New York: Harper
ginally titled "Resistance to Civil Government", has had a wide influence on many later practitioners of civil disobedience. The driving idea behind the essay is that citizens are morally responsible for their support of aggressors, even when such support is required by law. In the essay, Thoreau explained his reasons for having refused to pay taxes as an act of protest against slavery and against the Mexican–American War. He writes,
Most poets use their unique gift of writing poetry to relieve stress or just to document their emotions towards a given subject. Others use it as a key to bring about social change and voice their opinion on modern events. This is the case in Stephen Crane’s War Is Kind. The speaker in the poem uses irony as a strategy to convince the reader of the harsh reality of war.
When faced with the countless problems of war including death, disease, sorrow, and loss, soldiers develop and intense bond between one another as they seek support in one another. A brotherhood is formed among these soldiers who rely on one another for protection and companionship amid a time in their lives where they are faced with the constant threat of death and violence everyday of their lives. But what happens to them after the war? In After the War, poet brings awareness to how the war-torn soldier attempts to reestablish their self in a society they have been isolated from for so many years through use of free verse and repetitive phrases, which further reinforces the theme throughout the poem.