Do Not Weep, Maiden, for War Is Kind by Stephen Crane

Summary: Do Not Weep, Maiden, for War is Kind is coming from the narrator's perspective talking about war, and the duality of it regarding family and glory for men.

Section One:

The narrator is talking to a lover or perhaps a wife of a man at war
The narrator consoles the lover telling her not to be sad because her man has died (we think this because the horse ran off alone); he says war is kind

Section Two:

Now the narrator is talking to the reader of the poem, or perhaps the soldier themselves
The narrator says the man fighting the war were destined to die, but there is some "unexplained glory" about the dying in the war

Section Three:

The narrator is talking to the child of the father that has died in the war;
The narrator tells the child not to be sad because her father has died; again the narrator says war is kind

Section Four:

Again the narrator is talking to the reader of the poem, or the soldier
The narrator says again the men of war were meant to die
The narrator says just tell the soldiers why killing is good in this case of war; what makes it a virtue; make it plain to the soldier and he will kill
There is a nuance of glory by talking about the symbol of the flag the soldiers carry into war

Section Five:

The narrator is talking to the mother of the soldier in this verse
The narrator tells the mother not to weep for her son, he says the mother has a humble heart which is placed like a button on the shroud of the son; shrouds are often used to cover a dead person;
The narrator tells the mother not to weep for her son that is dead; again war is kind

Other Notes:

When the narrator is talking to the reader he makes a point to explain that these soldiers have been told that war is good to the soldiers
The narrator explains war is good to the soldier either because the soldier is looking for glory; or their is some higher virtue the soldier is defending