“War is Kind” Stephen Crane, American novelist and poet, is recognized by Schoenberg and Trudeau, “as one of the most important and influential American writers of the late nineteenth century” (1). Crane is best remembered for The Red Badge of Courage, a masterpiece novella about the American Civil War. In addition to that work, he wrote other novels, novellas, short stories, journalistic articles, non-fiction and books of poetry. War is Kind is a book of poetry featuring the title poem “War is Kind,” based on his experiences and observations. That poem, and others, is part of the genre of literature known as American War Poetry. Stephen Townley Crane was born on November 1, 1871, in Newark, New Jersey. He was the youngest of fourteen children
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He traveled through the American West and Mexico, which inspired some of his short fiction. While living in England in 1897, he began a common-law marriage with Cora Taylor, a hotel proprietor from Jacksonville, Florida (Bloom 12). Scandals caused them to move to Greece where Crane reported on the Greco-Turkish War in 1897. They returned to England when the war ended. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Crane traveled to Cuba as a reporter and then to Puerto Rico (12). While he was aboard “The Commodore,” the ship sank and he was on a lifeboat for about thirty hours, giving him resources for several important works. He returned to England in 1899 (Schoenberg and Trudeau …show more content…
The World Wars I and II generated much poetry which became songs and the poets of the Vietnam War years created many poems, most of them in opposition to the war. Poets have also used the Iraq War and the on-going conflicts in the Middle East for subject matter.
“War is Kind” is the title poem from a book of 36 poems, War is Kind and Other Lines, published in1899. According to Sorrento, reviewers unfavorably received the poem (128). The poem was written in free verse (Lee 46) and although other poets, such as Whitman, had used free verse, that form was still not popular with readers (Hubbell 420). One reason the poem is considered the best example of Crane’s poetry is its influence on later poets. Carl
He traveled through the American West and Mexico, which inspired some of his short fiction. While living in England in 1897, he began a common-law marriage with Cora Taylor, a hotel proprietor from Jacksonville, Florida (Bloom 12). Scandals caused them to move to Greece where Crane reported on the Greco-Turkish War in 1897. They returned to England when the war ended. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Crane traveled to Cuba as a reporter and then to Puerto Rico (12). While he was aboard “The Commodore,” the ship sank and he was on a lifeboat for about thirty hours, giving him resources for several important works. He returned to England in 1899 (Schoenberg and Trudeau …show more content…
The World Wars I and II generated much poetry which became songs and the poets of the Vietnam War years created many poems, most of them in opposition to the war. Poets have also used the Iraq War and the on-going conflicts in the Middle East for subject matter.
“War is Kind” is the title poem from a book of 36 poems, War is Kind and Other Lines, published in1899. According to Sorrento, reviewers unfavorably received the poem (128). The poem was written in free verse (Lee 46) and although other poets, such as Whitman, had used free verse, that form was still not popular with readers (Hubbell 420). One reason the poem is considered the best example of Crane’s poetry is its influence on later poets. Carl