BANSAL PUBLIC SCHOOL, JAIPUR
Poem – Keeping Quiet
By- Pablo Neruda
Theme
The poem is about the art of introspection and the creation of mutual understanding among
human beings. Introspection deals with acknowledging oneself and trying to understand the bad
and good in oneself. The poet wants human beings to observe their deeds and create a clear
distinction between right and wrong. According to him, introspection is the answer to the
brutality and lack of humanness in human beings.
Silence and Introspection: The poet emphasizes the need for silence to introspect and
understand our actions.
Universal Brotherhood: By keeping quiet, we can transcend our differences and appreciate
our shared humanity.
Peace and Harmony: Silence can lead to peace, both within ourselves and in the world around
us.
Tone
The poem’s tone is contemplative, meditative, and optimistic. Despite addressing serious
themes of environmental damage, human conflict, and mortality, the poet maintains a hopeful
perspective. The poem ultimately offers the possibility of renewal and transformation through
collective introspection.
Summary
Stanza 1 - The poet suggests a simple action—counting to twelve and keeping still. The number
twelve could symbolize the twelve hours of the clock or the twelve months of the year,
representing a complete cycle.
Stanza 2 - The poet calls for a moment of silence where no one speaks any language. This
would create a universal silence, breaking down barriers of communication.
Stanza 3 - The poet describes the moment of silence as "exotic" and "strange," highlighting its
rarity and the unique experience it would create.
Stanza 4 - The poet provides specific examples of how this silence would impact daily
activities. Fishermen would stop harming whales, and the salt gatherer would notice his injuries.
Stanza 5 - The poet imagines a world where even those who wage wars would take a break,
wear clean clothes, and walk peacefully with others.
Stanza 6 - The poet clarifies that his call for silence is not an endorsement of inactivity or death
but a momentary pause to reflect on life.
Stanza 7 - The poet suggests that our constant busyness prevents us from understanding
ourselves and leads to self-destruction.
Stanza 8 - The poet draws a parallel with nature, which appears dead in winter but comes alive
in spring. Similarly, a moment of silence can lead to renewed life.
Stanza 9 - The poet reiterates his call for silence and prepares to leave, emphasizing that the
responsibility for introspection lies with the reader.
Poetic Devices
TRANSFERRED EPITHET: A transferred epithet is a figure of speech where
an adjective or epithet describing a noun is transferred from the noun it is meant to describe
to another noun in the sentence.
ALLITERATION: Alliteration is the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or
more neighbouring words or syllables.
ANAPHORA: Anaphora is the repetition of a word or sequence of words at the beginning of
successive clauses, phrases, or sentences.
PUN: A Pun is a figure of speech that includes a play of words that have more than one
meaning or those that sound alike.
IRONY: Irony is a literary device that is used to express an intended meaning by using
language that conveys the opposite meaning when taken literally.
SYMBOLISM: Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving
them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense.
ENJAMBMENT: It is a poetic term for the continuation of a sentence or phrase from one
line of poetry to the next. An enjambed line typically lacks punctuation at its line break, so
the reader is carried smoothly and swiftly—without interruption—to the next line of the
poem.
Transferred Epithet cold sea
we will, wars with, his hurt hands, sudden strangeness
Alliteration
clean clothes, so single
Repetition without rush, without engines
Personification Earth can teach us.
Let’s not speak……..
Anaphora
Let’s stop…
Pun arms
Irony Victory without any survivors
Symbol count to twelve, fisherman and whale, green wars
we would all be together
Enjambment in a sudden strangeness
and for once could perhaps a huge silence……….ourselves with death.
Vocabulary
1.Exotic: Foreign or unfamiliar; strikingly different or unusual.
2.Single-minded: Having one overriding purpose or goal; focused or determined.
3.Threatening: Expressing a menace or intention to harm or cause pain.
4.To have no truck with: To refuse to be involved with or to have nothing to do with
something or someone.
