Theme: necessity of introspection and feeling of mutual understanding to develop
peace and tranquality in the world or at global level.
Title : symbolism of introspection , meditation
so that feeling of universal brotherhood
Poetic devices and peace prevails .
1-metaphor
2-symbolism
3-irony
4-pun
5-synechdocche
6-euphemism
7-personification we should be quiet and
8-anophora message : silent and introspect
9-assonance-vowel o and e used for sometime this would
10-repetition help us to understand one another
11-alliteration and prevent us from harming
3 Keeping Quiet the environment too
SYMBOLISM OF INTROSPECTION
d
About the poet TWELVE REFERS TO 12
e
Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) is the pen name of Neftali NUMBERS IN CLOCK OR
Ricardo Reyes Basoalto who was born in the town of TWELVE ZODIAC SIGNS
h
Parral in Chile. Neruda’s poems are full of easily
T s
understood images which make them no less beautiful.
i
He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in the year 1971.
l
In this poem Neruda talks about the necessity of quiet
R
introspection and creating a feeling of mutual THEME
b
understanding among human beings.
C E
Before you read
u
p
What does the title of the poem suggest to you? What do you think
N re
the poem is about?
we will -repetition
all the human beings at global level
EMPHASISE Now we will count to twelve significance of number 12 time
© e
ON KEEPING
QUIET and we will all keep still.
surface
b
For once on the face of the Earth
LEAST AMOUNT OF TIME anaphora
let’s not let's
speak in any
universal brotherhood
language,
USED FOR
MASSIVE AMOUNT let’s stop for one second,
OF WORK synecdocche,pun
o
ARMS PUN
refrain from using harmful weaponsand not move our arms so much.
t
MEANS
to develop MOVEMENT OF HANDS
universal brotherhood and peace unique, unusual
AND
It would be an exotic moment ARMS AND AMMUNITIONS
t
emphasis on al destructive activities
without rush, without engines, repetition
alliteration
o
we would all be together
no rush of achieving in a sudden strangeness. never happened earlier
materialistic thing
n
exploiters
symbolism
Fishermen in being
theexploited
cold sea to stop destroying
would not harm whales environment WHALES WERE AT THE
VERGE OF EXTINCTION
and the man gathering salt
alliteration
symbolism would look at his hurt hands.
man would realise his actions no one would harm anyone
that he is harming not only himself
but to the environment even the injured would take
care of themselves Keeping Quiet/95
wars -repetition
wars against nature
emphasis on the fact that how destructive humans
become
Those who prepare green wars, environment clean clothes refers to
keeping quiet nuclear weapons
will make them realise
wars with gas, wars with fire, chemical without
ironyvictory with no survivors, blood , no war , universal
that giving away destructive alliteration
activities would put on clean clothes metaphor brotherhood
that will lead to global peace and walk about with their treat everyone as brothers
brothers feeling of unity,peace , brotherhood
d
symbolises in the shade, doing nothing.
peace
e
poet
What I want should not be
h
confused
means no passivity , but no destructive
with total inactivity. activities
T i s
Life is what it is about;
association
l
truck eupheismI want no truck with death.
R
If we were not so single-minded focussed goal oriented , targeted
stop thinking of life moving
b
about keeping our lives moving,
,mad rush of accomplishments
E
and for once could do nothing,
u
perhaps a huge silence
C
stop
might interrupt this sadness should be silent and enjoy their achievements
p
what lurks
around? of never understanding ourselves
N re
moving
sadness and of threatening ourselves with
by keeping quiet death. by engaging in destructive activities
they will understand personified
© e
the true meaning of life Perhaps the Earth can teach us optimism
as when everything seems dead
we will able to feel seed latent unborn ,wait for the spring
b
and later proves to be alive.
the purpose of our season to come
life that would be poet will count similarly introspect
rebirth of our soul Now I’ll count up to twelve
o
and you keep quiet and I will go.
t
people to introspect , contemplate , meditate
t
to have no truck with : to refuse to associate or deal with, to refuse to
tolerate something
no Think it out
1. What will counting upto twelve and keeping still help us achieve?
2. Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death?
3. What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
4. What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there
can be life under apparent stillness?
96/Flamingo
Try this out
Choose a quiet corner and keep still physically and mentally
for about five minutes. Do you feel any change in your state of
mind?
d
Notice the differing line lengths of the stanzas and
e
the shift in thought from stanza to stanza.
T s h
R l i
E u b
C
N re p
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b
to
o t
n
Keeping Quiet/97
