Question

Read the poem below and answer the question the question that follows.

“War Is Kind”
by Stephen Crane

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 files 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 the 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.

Source: Crane, Stephen. “War Is Kind.” War Is Kind. Project Gutenberg, Feb. 2006. Web. 12 May 2011.



Which device does the phrase “war is kind” illustrate best?

simile
alliteration
style
irony

for those needing to know, answer is D) Irony!

(wrote this just to put the answer because there isn't another one and who knows who will need it! <3 )

Answer 1

Irony.

Step-by-step explanation:

Stephen Crane's poem "War Is Kind" is an ironic take on the devastating and savagery of wars. The poem presents the emotional as well as the physical torture and suffering that war brings upon those who fall on 'his hands'.

In stating "war is kind" numerous times, the poet seems to sarcastically and ironically talk about the evils and misfortunes that war brings. He askes the maiden, the babe, and the mother, not to weep, for "war is kind" and it has taken their loved ones. This is ironic as the poem talks of death as something that the ones left behind must be happy about when their loved ones die during the war.

Thus, the correct answer is irony.