Hi, Martin.
What a morbid, gruesome poem!
I guess that's what war is...

Anyway, the first line you ask about
"Point for them the virtue of slaughter"
is actually a command that the reader should show the soldiers that
slaughter is virtuous.
It is repeated in the next line:
"Make plain to them the excellence of killing"
This is also a command, so should it be "haga" rather than "hace"?

All I can say about the line about the mother's heart is that it, her
heart, is depicted as an ornament to the dead soldier's shroud. The poet is
speaking directly to the mother here, so it would seem to me to be more
poetic to say "Madre" rather than "La madre".

Just my opinion.
Lynn

>Hi friends,
> During those years the US were fighting against Spain.
> Spain lost the war, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico.
> I have a few questions
> Point for them the virtue of slaughter, ??? Un blanco para ellos la
>virtud de una matanza
> Mother whose heart hung humble as a button ???? La madre cuyo corazón
>se inclina humildemente como un capullo
> Any comment?
> Regards
> Masrtin
>
>
>
>---------------------------------
> Stephen Crane (1871-1900), American author, whose second novel, The Red
>Badge Of Courage (1895), brought him international fame. The Red Badge of
>Courage depicted the American Civil War from the point of view of an
>ordinary soldier. It has been called the first modern war novel.
>
>
> Esteban Crane (1871-1900)
> Autor norteamericano cuya segunda novela El rojo emblema del coraje,
>alcanzó fama internacional. Este libro describe la guerra civil de su país
>desde el punto de vista de un soldado raso. Es considerada la primera
>novela de guerra moderna.
> Regards
> Martin
>
> WAR IS KIND
>La guerra es amable
>
>by Stephen Crane
>por Stephen Crane
>[1899]
>(1899)
>
>Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.
>No llores doncella porque la guerra es amable.
>Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
>Porque su amante arroja salvajes manos hacia el cielo ??
>And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
>Y el temeroso corcel continuó galopando solo
>Do not weep.
>No llores
>War is kind.
>La guerra es amable
>
>Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,
>Sordos, retumbantes tambores del regimiento,
>Little souls who thirst for fight,
>Pequeñas almas que tienen sed de pelea,
>These men were born to drill and die.
>Estos hombres nacieros para ejercitarse y morir.
>The unexplained glory flies above them,
> Una gloria inexplicada vuela sobre ellos
>Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom --
> Grande es el dios de la batalla, enorme, y también su reino
>A field where a thousand corpses lie.
> Un campo donde miles de cuerpos yacen.
>
>Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
> No llores bebé, la guerra es amable
>Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,
> Porque tu padre cayó en las amarillentas trincheras,
> Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
>Con un grito atragantado en su pecho, murió.
> Do not weep.
> No llores
>War is kind.
> La guerra es amable.
>
>Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
> Flameante bandera del regimiento,
>Eagle with crest of red and gold,
> Águila con cresta roja y dorada,
>These men were born to drill and die.
> Estos hombres nacieron para ejercitarse y morir
>Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
> Un blanco para ellos la virtud de una matanza
>Make plain to them the excellence of killing
> Hace claro para ellos la maravilla del matar
>And a field where a thousand corpses lie.
> Y un campo donde miles de cuerpos yacen.
>
>Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
> La madre cuyo corazón se inclina humildemente como un capullo
>On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
> Ante la espléndida y brillante mortaja de su hijo
>Do not weep.
> No llores
>War is kind.
> La guerra es amable
>
>
>
>---------------------------------
> Preguntá. Respondé. Descubrí.
> Todo lo que querías saber, y lo que ni imaginabas,
> está en Yahoo! Respuestas (Beta).
> Probalo ya!