Answer:
Stephen Crane's poem "War is Kind" is a powerful anti-war statement that uses various literary devices, including verbal irony, to convey its message. In the fourth stanza, Crane employs verbal irony to comment on the brutality of war.
The stanza reads:
"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."
Here, Crane uses verbal irony to highlight the senselessness of war. He describes the soldiers' flag as "swift blazing" and the eagle as having a "crest of red and gold," which are typically associated with glory and honor. However, he then immediately juxtaposes this with the bleak reality of war, stating that these soldiers were "born to drill and die." This phrase emphasizes the futility of their sacrifice and suggests that their deaths were predetermined and meaningless.
Furthermore, Crane's use of the phrases "virtue of slaughter" and "excellence of killing" also employs verbal irony. Instead of glorifying war and violence, these phrases reveal the horrific nature of war and the dehumanization of those who engage in it. The final line of the stanza, "And a field where a thousand corpses lie," reinforces this irony by reminding the reader of the ultimate cost of war - death and destruction.
Overall, Crane's use of verbal irony in the fourth stanza of "War is Kind" serves to critique the glorification of war and the dehumanization of soldiers.