KEEPING QUIET

By Pablo Neruda
Through this poem, the poet has emphasized on the importance of introspection. He wishes
to say man has become very selfish and because of his own doings, he has invited a lot of
miseries for himself. Today’s world is divided by the man made boundaries of caste, creed,
race, religion, language, culture, nationality and geographical divisions. We need to emerge
free from these constraints. The poet talks about the necessity of creating a feeling of
mutual understanding among human beings.
** The title of the poem itself emphasizes on the importance of silence. It centres on the
importance of quiet introspection for all. Often our speech and activities bring trouble, so
they need to be checked.
Stanzawise Explanation
Stanza 1
“Now we ---------------------------------- so much”.
The poet asks each one of us to count upto twelve and then keep quiet. The poet might
have used the phrase ‘count to twelve ’as there are twelve hours on a clock or there are
twelve months in a year. He wants a moment of silence on earth when no one would speak
in any language. In this way, there will be no barrier of language among people. No harsh
words will be exchanged. The poet further wants that no one should move their arms. He
wants everyone to remain motionless and still.
Stanza 2
“ It would ------------------------------- sudden strangeness”.
The poet says that such a moment of silence would be an exciting and unusual one. There
will be no hurry on the part of the people to rush to their work place. There will also be no
sound of the machines, which otherwise pollutes our atmosphere. He says that it would be
a strange and unfamiliar moment surrounded by stillness all around. He is of the belief that
in this unusual period, the bonds of humanity will get stronger.
Stanza 3
“Fishermen in ------------------------ hurt hands”.
The poet says that in this moment of inactivity, the fishermen would not catch fish. As a
result of this, the whales in the sea would be safe. This indicates that during this time ,the
human beings would not destroy nature. The man who gathers salt will also be able to look
and tend to his wounded hands for which he had no time earlier. * Thus, both nature and
human beings will be able to recover from their respective wounds during this time.
Stanza 4
“Those who ------------------------- doing nothing”.
In this stanza, the poet speaks of those who wage wars against the environment, wars of all
kinds including the use of chemicals or poisonous gases, wars that bring about death and
destruction, wars that leave none alive to celebrate their victory. He says that men should
abstain (keep away/avoid) from these activities. They should shed off their blood stained
clothes, wear new clothes and walk with their brethren(brothers) thereby promoting a
sense of brotherhood. * The poet says that the war-torn world should be replaced by one
which has an atmosphere of peace, brotherhood and harmony.
Stanza 5
“What I -------------------------------- with death”.
The poet says that even though he wants silence, it should not be confused with total
inactivity. He does not want any association with death. He says that life is meant to be
lived.
Stanza 6
“If we ----------------------------------- with death”.
Here the poet says that people should stop being selfish and self-centred. For one moment,
they should not think of keeping their lives moving, meeting their own ends and fulfilling
their duties. He further says that the huge silence, which will arise from such a moment will
serve to help the people. It will help them to introspect and overcome their sadness of
failing to understand themselves. He is of the view that people have been threatening
themselves with death as a result of their own activities. This moment of silence will give
them an opportunity to understand themselves in a much better way.
Stanza 7
“ Perhaps the -------------------------- will go”.
The poet feels that the earth can teach us and guide us to keep quiet .He wants us to
observe that even under apparent stillness, there is some activity. For example a seed
appears to be’ dead’ but huge fruit bearing trees are’ born ‘of such seeds lying here and
there.
Finally the poet thinks that whatever he wanted to convey, he has done that. Now he wants
us to keep quiet while he is counting upto twelve, after which he will leave.
Poetic Devices
1. Alliteration
i.Let’s stop for one second
ii.in a sudden strangeness
iii.Would look at his hurt hands
iv. Would put on clean clothes
2. Repetition/Refrain
i.Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still
ii.Those who prepare green wars
wars with gas, wars with fire
Think it out (Page 96)
1 Ans: Counting upto twelve and keeping still can help us as we get some time to stop all our
routine activities of daily life and self- introspect our actions thereby helping us to change
our destructive ways and promote brotherhood among men.
2 Ans: No, the poet does not advocate total inactivity and death. He clearly states that he
has no truck with death. According to him life must be lived to the fullest .He only wants the
inhuman and destructive activities to stop.
3 Ans: The poet refers to the sadness that arises when we fail to understand each other.
Today, we are so caught up in achieving materialistic success that we have no time to
introspect our actions and their results. As a consequence of this, we often end up hurting
ourselves, thereby causing sadness.
4 Ans: The poet has invoked the symbol of our earth from nature to say that there can be
life under apparent stillness. For example a seed which is there on the earth appears to be
dead but in due course of time, huge fruit bearing trees are born of such seeds lying here
and there.