As the poem begins, the first line has a juxtaposition within it creating an effect of irony. The opening statement, Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind, symbolizes the irony of the time period of the Civil War, and reiterates the fact that war was masked and portrayed as a benefactor. The speaker seems to be the poet himself and he creates a calm and sympathetic mood discussing the maidens lover and his victory against the enemy. The opening line is repeated in a different way at the end of the first, third, and fifth stanzas creating repetition. The act of repeating the line emphasizes the nature of ignorance that people had of how terrible war actually was and how they tried to make it sound like it was not harmful by any means. The speaker in this poem acts as an archetype for society during the time period.
Although the poem is not written in ia
mbic pentameter and does not have a rhyme scheme, the structure of the poem alone has an effect on the point the poet is trying to make. The first, third, and fifth stanzas have no indentation, however, the second and fourth stanzas do. Indentation could be interpreted as something not being on the surface or in plain sight. In stanzas one, three, and five the speaker is telling the maiden that her father and lover are glorified because they were involved in the war and fought against the enemy. Their victory is seen, but the harrowing, exhausting, deadly part of war is not seen until the second and fourth stanzas where the indentation takes place. The shift in the poem happens here, and the indentation symbolizes something hidden within the surface that is not seen at a first glance, much like the true reality of war and what it actually consists of.