War is Kind...Stephen Crane. This is one of those poems you agonize over. It makes you uncomfortable, and I suppose that's the point. When you think about the soldiers who lay down their lives for our freedom, the thought of them being ripped from their loved ones is anything but kind. Irony is the most effective literary device he could've chosen. It makes you incredibly sad and grateful at the same time, and that's when you understand the magnitude of a soldier's sacrifice. JMO