KEEPING QUIET
BY PABLO NERUDA
Keeping Quiet
EXTRACT BASED QUESTIONS
1. 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.
Questions
(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 ‘arms’.
Answers
(a) There are twelve hours on the face of the clock and also there are twelve months in a year. The poet also
refers to the number twelve. He wants us to suspend our activities for twelve seconds.
(b) The poet wants us to stop talking and moving our arms.
(c) The poet wants us to give a universal message. He wants that all the people of the world irrespective of their nationality should suspend their activities for a few seconds. Not to use any language to communicate.
(d) The poet has used the word arms for two purposes. He wants us to keep still for a few seconds and not move our arms. The second meaning of the word arms is weapons. The poet wants us to stop the use of arms and ammunitions against anyone.
2. It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness
Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales.
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.
Questions
(a) Name the poem and the poet.
(b) Which moment has been referred to here and how it will be significant ?
(c) How would we feel during that moment ?
(d) What does the poet want from the fishermen ?
Answers
The name of the poem is ‘Keeping Quiet’ and the name of the poet is Pablo Neruda.
(b) The moment of quiet introspection has been referred here. It is significant in the sense that it brings all of us together and we have a feeling of oneness.
(c) We would feel all together and have a feeling of sudden strangeness.
(d) The poet wants that the fishermen should not kill whales for sometime.
3. Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers –
in the shade, doing nothing.
Questions
(a) Name the poem and the poet.
(b) What does the poet mean by green wars ?
(c) What types of wars does the poet mention ?
(d) What does the poet want from the lovers of the war ?
Answers
(a) The name of the poem is ‘Keeping Quiet’ and the poet is Pablo Neruda.
(b) It means the war against the environment or defores-tation.
(c) The poet mentions green wars, wars with gas and wars with fire.
(d) He wants them to wear clean clothes and walk lei-surely with their brothers.
4. What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.
Questions
(a) Name the poem and the poet.
(b) What should not be confused with total inactivity ?
(c) What does the poet mean by …. I want no truck with death ?
(d) What is the gist of this stanza ?
Answers
(a) The name of the poem is ‘Keeping Quiet’ and the name of the poet is Pablo Neruda.
(b) Keeping quiet and remaining still should not be con-fused with total inactivity.
(c) The poet wants to say that stillness and quietness is not death. He wants to restart his activities again after introspection of a few seconds.
(d) In this stanza the poet says that quietness is not death. Rather it helps us to restart our activities in a fresh way.
5. If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing, perhaps a huge silence might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.
Questions
(a) Whom does ‘we’ refer to in the above lines ?
(b) Why does the poet want us to ‘do nothing1 for once ?
(c) What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem ?
(d) How can a huge silence do good to us ?
Answers
(a) ‘We’ in this stanza refers to the human beings who are self-centred and who only think about themselves.
(b) By doing nothing for once, we can have ample time to introspect ourselves and analyse our actions.
(c) When people don’t introspect themselves, they fail to understand themselves, then ‘sadness’ arises.
(d) Huge silence helps in analysing ourselves. In this way, we can introspect ourselves.
6. Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.
Questions
(a) What does the earth teach us ?
(b) Why does the poet count up to twelve ?
(c) What will keeping quiet help us achieve ?
(d) How does the earth teach us that there is activity even in apparent stillness ?
Answers
(a) The earth teaches us that there is life in what we think that is dead.
(b) The poet wants to introspect by counting twelve.
(c) Keeping quiet help us to recuperate our energy. In this way, we can start our activities with fresh zeal and energy.
(d) We think that the earth is dead as it remains still But many changes are kept taking under the surface of the earth. A seed that seems dead germinates under the earth and a new life springs from it. The earth always seems in motion.
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death ?
Answer:
No, the poet does not advocate total inactivity and death. He only wants us to keep quiet for a few seconds and suspend all our activities for a few seconds. In this way we can introspect our¬selves and restart our activities with fresh energy and zeal.
2. What does the poet want us to convey in the poem ?
Answer:
The poet wants us to tell that by keeping quiet and remaining still for few moments, we will be able to do our work in a more effective way. We can analyse our past actions and not repeat our past, mistakes.
3. How would keeping quiet affect the life in and around the sea ?
Answer:
It will affect the life in and around the sea in two ways. The fishermen will stop fishing for some time. It will help the number of the fish to recuperate. The man gathering salt will get some time to see his hurt hands get healed.
4. What will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us achieve ?
Answer:
Counting upto twelve and keeping still gives us time to introspect ourselves. In this way, we can recuperate our energy and restart our activities with fresh energy and zeal.
5. What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
Answer:
When people don’t introspect themselves they fail to understand themselves, then ‘sadness’ arises. The poet wants that people should overcome this sadness by introspecting themselves.
6. What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent stillness ?
Answer:
In this poem, the poet uses the symbol of the earth to say that there can be life under apparent stillness. He says that the earth appears to be dead in the winter season. But when the spring season comes it becomes alive with all its new plants. It never takes rest.
7. What is Neruda’s attitude towards these wars?
Answer:
The poet says that there are green wars. He means t to say that the people who destroy forests also wage a war against their own coming generations. There are wars with fire, chemical weapons and poisonous gases. The wars bring so much destruction that no side could be called victorious. The poet wants that all these wars should be stopped. These wars bring nothing but destruction.
8. How does the earth teach us that there is activity even in apparent stillness ?
Answer:
We think that earth is dead as it remains still. But many changes are taking place under the surface of the earth. A seed that seems dead germinates under the earth and a new life springs from it.
9. How will ‘keeping quiet’ protect our environment ?
Answer:
Keeping quiet helps us to stop wars. In this way it helps to prevent destruction of environment due to wars. Also, it prevents deforestation. In this way, we can say that keeping quiet is the only way to prevent our environment from all types of pollution.
10. What does the poet mean by saying ‘victory with no survivors’ ?
Answer:
According to the poet the wars cause a lot of destruction. A lot of people die from both the sides. Therefore, no one can claim that their side has won, since the so called victor also has to face a lot of causalities.
11. Justify the title ‘Keeping Quiet’.
Answer:
The title of the poem is quite appropriate and logical. It suggests the necessity of quiet introspection. The people of the world are overactive and always on the move. Their activities have caused untold troubles and sufferings. Keeping quiet will do them a lot of good. It will save them from many harmful and violent activities. Moreover, it will help in reflecting over the fate of man and help in creating a feeling of mutual understanding among human beings.
12. Under the apparent stillness there is life. Justify this statement giving an example from the poem ‘Keeping Quiet’.
Answer:
Neruda does not equate stillness with total inactivity. He believes that under this apparent stillness there is life. We can learn it from the earth. When everything seems dead, the earth still remains alive. The earth is never dead. The life on the earth goes on as usual under the apparent stillness.
13. How might a huge silence interrupt the sadness of men?
Answer:
Men never understand themselves. Nor are they ever sure of their actions. They face another tragedy. Due to their own actions, they are threatening themselves with death. This realisation makes them helpless and sad. Only a huge (long) silence might interrupt this sadness and do them some good.
14. How does the poet distinguish ‘stillness’ from ‘total inactivity’? Why does Neruda saw I want no truck with death?
Answer:
Pablo Neruda is in favour of stillness or silence. We remain still and quiet for sometime. On the other hand, total inactivity is a permanent suspension of work. It is just like death. ‘Stillness’ should not be Confused with ‘total inactivity’. Life goes on as usual. There can’t be anything like total inactivity. The poet refuses to associate with death or deal with it.
15. What is the exotic moment the poet Pablo Neruda wishes for? (Delhi 2009)
Answer:
Pablo Neruda wishes for that exotic moment when mankind will be free from greed, cruelty and harmful actions. Unnecessary rush and noise have caused unpleasantness and troubles. The poet wishes the noise of engines and machines should cease and peace and tranquility should prevail.
POETIC DEVICES
Keeping Quiet
`Count to twelve’ — symbolizes a measure of time. The clock has twelve markings on it, the year has twelve months and the day has twelve hours. `Fishermen in the cold sea…hurt hands’-symbolic image showing how man is ruthlessly destroying nature for his selfish need. The ‘hurt hands’ of the salt gatherer symbolises how he is harming himself by his mindless activities.
Fisherman and whale stand for the oppressor and oppressed respectively. ‘Cold sea’ — transferred epithet.
Put on clean clothes’- Alliteration
Introspection will make us comprehend the destructive nature of wars. Man would cleanse his heart purging it of hatred.
`Brothers’ — a symbol of mankind
`In the shade’ — metaphor — just as shade protects us from the harsh sun, we will protect and shelter each other as brothers, thus live in peace and harmony.
`Clean clothes’ symbolise peace and change in one’s perspective.
`Earth can teach us as when everything’ — Personification. Earth is personified as a teacher
THEME
The urgent need for mankind to introspect, buy time to start afresh.
To put an end to all destructive activities, be at peace, in universal brotherhood.
The need to live in peaceful co-existence with nature, to stop harming animals and avoid annihilation of the human race.
IMAGERY
Use of repetition with a difference in the first and last lines of the poem.
‘put on clean clothes’ metaphorical—cleanse one’s soul, remove traces of bloodshed.
Image of the earth-nurturer and life-giver.
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. Write the central idea of the poem.
Answer:
In this poem, the poet tells us about the value of quiet introspection. He wants us to keep quiet for twelve seconds and stop every movement of the body. He implores the fishermen not to harm the whales. He also wants the man gathering salt to stop his activities for a few minutes, since he has hurt his hands. The poet says that wars are useless.
These wars leave no survivors. However the poet doesn’t advocate total inactivity. He says that something that appears to be dead now later proves to be alive. Total inactivity is death, the poet just wants us to suspend our activities for a few seconds.
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