Keeping Quiet

Summary:
Keeping Quiet Summary – “Keeping Quiet” is a peace poem written by the
Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. The poet asks humanity to count numbers from one
to twelve – twelve being the number of hours shown in a clock or the number of
zodiac signs. He requests everyone not to speak because languages create
barriers between people. The moment when everyone stops moving their body
will be very special and different as we have never experienced such a moment
before.
The poet says that in this period of inactivity the fishermen would not harm the
whales, the salt gatherers will not hurt their hands, those who are busy
destroying the nature will adopt a new approach towards life, The men who are
preparing for wars and victory based on deaths of innocent people will join their
enemy and stand in unity with them, doing nothing. No one will harm himself
or any other person. Everyone will unite and ponder upon his acts and realize
the results of his deeds.
The poet clarifies his idea and says further that he does not want that people
should stand idle. He wants that there should be no war because he does not
want to see trucks laden with dead bodies of the soldiers. He is promoting
Universal brotherhood and peace.
The poet says that everyone is working continuously, to achieve one’s goals.
People are threatened by death and the fear forces them to work endlessly so
that they can achieve everything quickly. In this mad rush, they do not realize
the repercussions of their acts. He wants us to pause and come out of the mad
rush. He wants us to be happy about our achievements and celebrate them. He
wants us to overcome the fear of death and to relax for a while. We should
know the results of our deeds and celebrate our achievements.
When the people will remain quiet for a while, they will realize the purpose of
their lives. Just like all the creations of nature undergo a rebirth with the change
of seasons, similarly, keeping quiet will be a rebirth for the human soul. It will
give a new meaning to our life. Again, the poet says that he will count till
twelve and asks everyone to remain quiet while he leaves.
Answer the following questions
Q1.What will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us achieve ?
Answer: Counting up to 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.
Q2. 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.
Q3. What does the poet want us to tell ?
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.
Q4.What are the different types of wars mentioned in the poem ?
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.
Q5. How might a huge silence interrupt the sadness of men?
Ans: 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.
Q6. Justify the title ‘Keeping Quiet’.
Ans: 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.
Q7. Analyse the importance of the dramatic count to twelve in 'Keeping
Quiet."
Ans The poem opens with the poet's appeal to begin with a count to twelve
followed by a moment of silence. The poet links silence with hope for a
moment of togetherness. The repetition of the poet's request to count to twelve
in the first and the last stanzas creates a personal space of silence in the poem.
The poet seeks this moment of silence as a moment to introspect and meditate,
to share a feeling of oneness. The poet wishes that in this selected moment, the
fishermen would not kill the whales and the men gathering salt would give rest
to their injured hands. The threat of destruction of the world would come to a
halt. In this chosen moment we would have time for self- assessment. The
number 'twelve' is dramatically significant to represent our clock time, a
moment in real life.
Q8. It could be said that the poem 'Keeping Quiet' presents the poet's
philosophy for a different kind of world.
If you were asked to highlight elements of Neruda's vision that resonate in
your specific social, political and cultural context, which three main ideas
would you engage with? Use relevant textual details to support your
analysis.
Ans: Pablo Neruda imagines a beautiful world in which silence and stillness
becomes a regular part of one's life and which increases understanding of
oneself and reduces environmental conflict and war. Neruda's vision can be
adopted into a social, political and cultural context in the following ways.
The first is Neruda's suggestion of keeping quiet which can be adopted into the
social context of a school curriculum. Students can devote 30 minutes of silence
in a week which could be spent in a library or meditation hall. They would be
taught to be still and silent under any circumstances.
Second, Neruda's suggestion of stillness can be suggested to political parties
who can incorporate them into their political doctrine.
Third, at a cultural level, stillness and silence can be adopted at a grassroots
level movement starting with Stillness Clubs (where people go to stay still and
be silent) for the public which can then be replicated in companies and
neighbourhoods.
Ideally, stillness and silence should be taught at home and from there, it should
spread all over the world.
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