POEM: 3
Keeping Quiet Pablo Neruda
INTERPRETATION
& ANALYSIS
In
this poem the poet talks about the necessity of quiet introspection and
creating a feeling of mutual understanding among human beings.The poet asks
us to count to twelve to prepare us for the moment of silence and
introspection. He appeals that for once we shouldn’t talk in any language
because this talking is the root of all the maladies. For a while we should
let the silence be the language of communion. We should have a pause from our
busy life and avoid all quarrels and fights. If all start meditating and
introspecting, that would be an excitingly strange moment as there won’t be
any uproar, hurry and chaos, and people would have a feeling of solidarity.
In the
fourth stanza, the poet uses the images of fishermen and salt-gatherer. He
says that after introspection there would dawn an understanding upon
fishermen that how their activities are harming nature and they would stop
doing such things. And the man gathering salt will understand that his greed
is hurting himself. These images suggest that today’s man, both knowingly and
unknowingly is harming nature but he is indifferent and unsympathetic to the
fellow beings and not only this, his activities are hurting himself and he
doesn’t realize. His greed makes him close his eyes to the consequences.
The
act of introspection and meditation make us realize futility of war; that
wars lead on to wars only; it leaves only wails and cries in its wake; there
can be victory but no joy or no survivor to enjoy it. This realization will
make them understand the importance of peace and harmony. People would avoid
war and feeling of fraternity would prevail.But the poet does not want us to
confuse his idea of meditation and introspection with that of total
inactivity. He doesn’t want us to be indolent rather he says life should be
lively and meaningful. We should not be like death in life, a burden on earth
rather we should make it useful. According to Neruda, we are selfish people
and we think of only our advancement and
progress even at the cost of others. But coming out of the cell of
self if we give a thought to ourselves, we’ll understand the reason of
sadness in our lives and once we understand the reason, we won’t fear even
death.
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We
can learn a lot from the earth. It seems to be still but still it moves on;
life and death, creation and destruction everything goes on and the earth
doesn’t stop for anything. Through the example of the earth, the poet wants
to say that there can be activity even in stillness. We can be creatively and
innovatively engaged, and like earth we should not stop for anything. There
may be joys and sorrows but we should keep on moving.
Preparing
us for the unique moment of silence and introspection, the poet leaves us in
the quietness so that we can better understand and know ourselves.
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GLOSSARY
Truck - Association, Deal
Exotic - Unusual, Excitingly strange
Now
we will count up to twelve
And we will all keep still.
1. Why does the poet use number twelve?
Ans: The poet uses
number twelve because there are twelve numbers on the dial of a watch; there
are twelve months in a year; we divide a day in two twelves and there are
twelve zodiac signs.
2. What
does counting to twelve signify?
Ans: Counting to
twelve signifies a preparatory exercise for the act of quiet introspection.
3. Why will all keep still?
Ans: All will keep
still in order to mediatate.
For once on the face of this earth
Let’s not speak in any language,
Let’s stop for once second,
And not move our arms so much.
1. Why should people not speak in any
language?
Ans: People should
not speak in any language because one doesn’t need any language to talk to
oneself. Moreover, speaking in any language will only hinder the process of
meditation.
2. Why
does the poet ask us to stop for one second?
Ans: The poet asks us
to stop for one second because this rushing and running cannot take us
anywhere. We need to spare some time for ourselves.
3. What
does the poet suggest in the last line?
Ans: According to the
poet we should avoid the rush and run for material possessions and should not
fight with anybody. Moreover, we should have some time for ourselves as well.
It would be an exotic moment
Without rush, without engines,
We would all be together
In a sudden strangeness.
1. What would be an exotic moment?
Ans: When all would
be silent and introspecting without any rush and noise, that would be an exotic
moment.
2. Why
would there be a sudden strangeness?
Ans: There would be a
sudden strangeness because all would be together, meditating silently which
generally doesn’t happen.
3. What
are engines symbolic of?
Ans: Engines are
symbolic of continuous movement and noise.
Fishermen in the cold sea
Would not harm whales
And the man gathering salt
Would look at his hurt hands.
1. Why would fishermen not harm whales?
Ans: The fishermen
would not harm whales because after introspection they would understand that
there activities are harming the nature.
2. Why
would the salt-gatherer look at his hurt hands?
Ans: The
salt-gatherer would look at his hurt hands because in the moments of
introspection he would realize that his activities are harming himself.
3. What does the poet mean by ‘cold sea’?
Ans: Cold sea here
refers to the indifferent world. According to the poet, we are living in an
indifferent world where people have no sympathy and empathy for others.
Those who prepare green wars,
Wars with gas, wars with fire,
Victory with no survivors,
Would put on clean clothes
1. What is ‘green wars’?
Ans: “Green wars”
means deforestation, green house effect, ozone layer depletion i.e. harming
nature in various ways.
2. Why
will there be no survivors?
Ans: There will be no
survivors because war leads on to wars and leave in its wake only deaths and
injuries.
3. Who
will put on clean clothes and why?
Ans: Those who
indulge in wars will put on clean clothes because after introspection, they
will understand that war is futile and peace must reign supreme.
What I want should not be
Confused with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about.
1. What does the poet want?
Ans: The poet wants
us to spare some time for quiet introspection.
2. What
does the poet mean by total inactivity?
Ans: By total
inactivity poet means doing nothing and remaining totally unproductive.
3. What
is life about?
Ans: Life is all
about liveliness, being productive and making it meaningful.
If we were not so single-minded
About keeping our lives moving
And for once could do nothing.
1. What kind of people are we?
Ans: We are
single-minded i.e. narrow-minded people.
2. What do we think of?
Ans: We, being
narrow-minded think only of our progress and improvement, not about others.
3. What
does the poet want us to do?
Ans: The poet wants
us to avoid all our activities for some time and introspect.
Perhaps a huge silence might
Interrupt this sadness of never
Understanding ourselves and of
Threatening ourselves with death.
1. What can the silence do?
Ans: The silence can
take us out of our sadness.
2. Why
is there sadness in our lives?
Ans: There is sadness
in our lives because we don’t understand ourselves.
3. Why
should people not be afraid of death?
Ans: People should
not be afraid of death because it is a universal truth and cannot be avoided.
It is a truth to be accepted that one who has come, has to go one day.
Perhaps the earth can teach us
As when everything seems dead
And later proves to be alive.
1. What can earth teach us?
Ans: The earth can
teach us that there can be activity even in stillness and we should never stop
moving whatever comes in our life.
2. How
does everything seem dead?
Ans: On this earth
some or the other thing goes on all the time. Sometimes it is dark or sometimes
there is destruction which makes us feel everything seem dead.
3. How
do the things prove to be alive?
Ans: The earth
reveals itself in mysterious ways if at one time there is death, the other
moment there is birth; darkness is followed by light and destruction is
followed by creation.
SHORT
ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. Why does the poet count only up to twelve?
What does this mean?
Ans: The
poet uses the number twelve as there are twelve numbers on the dial of a watch;
we divide the time of a day in two twelves and there are twelve months in a
year. Here, counting has been used as a preparatory exercise for the ultimate
moment of silence and introspection.
2. Why does the poet want us not to speak
in any language?
Ans: The
poet wants us not to speak in any language because this talking is the root of
all the maladies. People often talk uselessly which leads to disputes and
quarrels so it is better to be quiet for some time and use the silence as a
language of communion to talk to ourselves.
3. Explain “not move our arms so much”.
Ans: The
poet wants us not to engage ourselves in any quarrels or fights. Moreover,
today’s people are involved in the rat race of awards, rewards, prestige,
promotion, money etc. He wants us to avoid this rush and run, and be quiet and
thinking for a while.
4. What would be the exotic moment?
Ans: When
people would understand the importance of quiet introspection, there would be
no rush and chaos, and most importantly there would be a feeling of
togetherness. This situation has been termed as an exotic moment by the poet.
5. “Fishermen
in the cold sea” What does the poet mean by ‘cold sea’?
Ans: The
word ‘cold sea’ here symbolizes the indifferent world. The fishermen are
indifferent to the plight of fish. They don’t care about the harm they are
causing, rather they go on killing the fish out of their greed to earn more
money. Today, we, human beings have lost all fellow feeling and become numb to
other’s sufferings and sorrows.
6. Why would the man gathering salt look
at his hurt hands?
Ans: In
the moment of silence and quiet self-analysis, the salt-gatherer will
understand the futility of his greed and think about himself which will make
him realize how he is hurting himself. Today’s people don’t have time to think
about themselves. A brief pause from the daily haste can give them a chance to
take protective and preventive steps for themselves.
7. What does the poet mean by ‘green
wars’?
Ans: Green
wars here mean the war resulting from the environmental concerns and problems.
People are cutting trees; desertification is increasing; there is global
warming and environmental
pollution. All these problems will ultimately result into armed conflicts.
8. “Life is what it is about.” Explain.
Ans: The
poet here means to say that life should be full of liveliness. There should be
some purpose and meaning to life instead of spending it uselessly in trifle
activities or being idle.
Ans: The
poet wants no association with death. Living like a dead is no life at all.
Inactivity and rush should be avoided and we should try to engage ourselves in something
creative.
10. Why, according to the poet, there is
sadness in our lives?
Ans: There
is sadness in our lives because we don’t understand ourselves and we are afraid
ofdeath. If once we come out of the cell of self and introspect, we’ll
understand that sadness is a part of life and death is a universal truth, and
one must accept these facts with equanimity.
11. What
will counting up to twelve and keeping quiet help us achieve?
Ans: Counting
up to twelve and keeping quiet will help us achieve a state of self-analysis
and self-understanding which will remove all sadness and fear from our lives
and will teach us to value life, peace and harmony.
PREVIOUS YEARS' QUESTIONS
(2016) Read the
extract given below and answer the questions that follow: [4 Marks]
Now we will count to twelve
And
we will all keep still
For once on the face of the Earth
let's
not speak in any language.
let's
stop for one second.
and
not move our arms so much.
(a) What is the
significance of the number twelve?
(b) Which two
activities does the poet want us to stop?
(c) What does
the poet mean by let’s not speak in any language?
(d) Describe the
pun on the word ‘arm’.
(2015) – 'Life is what it is all about; ....' How is
keeping quiet related to life?
– Why does one feel' a sudden strangeness'
on counting to twelve and keeping quiet?
– How will 'keeping quiet' protect our
environment? [3 Marks]
(2014) What is the sadness the
poet refers to in the poem 'Keeping Quiet' ? [2 marks]
(2013) What are the different
kinds of wars mentioned in the poem? What is Neruda's attitude towards these
wars? [2
Marks]
(2012) Read the extract given below and answer the
questions that follow: [4 Marks]
For once on the face of the Earth
let's not
speak in any language.
let's stop
for one second.
and not
move our arms so much.
(a) Why does the poet want us to keep quiet?
(b)
What does he want us to do for one second?
(c)
What does he mean by 'not move our arms' ?
(2011) Do you think the poet,
Pablo Neruda advocates total inactivity and death? Why/Why not? [2 Marks]
(2010) According to the poet,
what is it that human beings can learn from Nature? [2 Marks]
(2009) Read the extract given
below and answer the questions that follow: [4 Marks]
Now
we will count to twelve
and we
will all keep still.
For once
on the face of the Earth
let's not
speak in any language,
let's stop
for one second.
and not
move our arms so much.
(a)
How long does the poet want to stay still ?
(b)
What does he hope to achieve by keeping quiet?
(c)
What does the poet mean by 'not move our arms so much’?
(2008) Read the extract given below and answer the
questions that follow: [4 Marks]
Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when
everything seems dead
and later
proves to be alive.
Now I'1l
count up to twelve
and you
keep quiet and I will go.
(a)
What does the earth teach us ?
(b)
Why does the poet count up to twelve?
(c)
What will keeping quiet help us achieve?
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