Analysis of Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind
Stephen Crane 1871 – 1900
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 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.
Scheme | abxCA dxBxxb axxCA dxBxxb eeCA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111101111 011101110101 00111101 111 111 110110100 1011111 11011101 001101011 11010110110 011010101 11111111 0111010001010 1111101 111 111 110110100 10111101 11011101 111010110 11110100110 0011010101 10111101010 101101111 111 111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 949 |
Words | 169 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 6, 5, 6, 4 |
Lines Amount | 26 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 139 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 50 sec read
- 227 Views
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"Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35674/do-not-weep%2C-maiden%2C-for-war-is-kind>.
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