Keeping quiet

KEEPING QUIET - POEM
CLASS-XII
CBSE

1. PREPARED
BY-
Preeti Shaw
PGT
English

2. HIGHLIGHTS-
-About the poet
-IntroductioN
-Rhyme scheme
-Theme
-Summary
-Explanation
-Points to remember
-Literary devices

4. About the Poet -
PabloNeruda(1904–1973)wasthe‘penname’and
later,‘legalname’ofthisfamousChileanpoet–
diplomat–politician.HewontheNobelprizefor
literatureintheyear1971.Hewroteingreeninkwhich
washispersonalsymbolfordesireandhope.His
writingsaresimple,whereinliestheirbeauty.
OriginallywritteninSpanish,theessenceofthispoem
isbasedonintrospectionandretrospection.Thepoet
feelsthatsomesoul–searchingisneededforusto
beatpeacewithourselvesandothers.

5. Introduction of the poem-
The poem “Keeping Quiet” written by
Pablo Neruda discusses the need of
maintaining peace and silence. He
stresses upon being quiet and harmless
to the human beings, animals and
environment. He suggests that in order to
maintain peace and harmony, it is required
to stop and introspect ourselves.

6. Rhyme scheme of the poem-
The poem is written in free verse.
It does not follow any rhyme scheme.

7. Theme-
Necessity of quiet introspection and creating a feelingof mutual
understand among human beings.
Sub -Theme-
Horror of war and how they affect World peace.

8. 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.

9. Summary-
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.

10. Summary-
The poet clarifies his idea and says further that he does not want people to
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.

11. Stanza-I
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.

12. Explanation
Thepoethererequestseveryonetocounttilltwelveintheirownmindand
tostopforawhile.Maybethis‘twelve’referredtobythepoetisthetwelve
hoursintheclockorthetwelvemonthsinayear.Hewantseveryoneto
stopandcalmdown.Thepoeturgeseveryonenottospeakanylanguage.
Asweallknowthattherearedifferentlanguagesspokenindifferentparts
oftheearthwhichsometimesbecomeabarrierinourwayforpeace.So,he
askspeoplenottospeak.Notonlythis,healsowantsustostopmoving
ourarms.Byusingtheword‘arms’hemeanstheweaponswhichareused
bydifferentcountriestoraiseawaragainsteachother.Sobasicallythe
poetisdemandingpeacefromallofus.

13. Points to remember-
1.The poet asks everyone to count up to twelve in their mind. The
number twelve represents the hours of the day or the months of a
year.
2.He wants all of us to be calm and still.
3.People across the nations have to unite together, so, they shall not
speak their own languages, rather they all shall keep quiet and
speak the language of silence.
4.This will bring unity among all the humans on the face of the Earth.
5.For at least one moment, no one shall move his arms either to
signal, or to fight, or argue with each other.

14. Literary devices:-
Assonance:Use of vowel sound ‘o’ and ‘e’ (Now we will count to twelve, not
move our arms so much)
Anaphora: Two consecutive lines starting with the word ‘Let’s’
let’s not speak in any language, let’s stop for one second,
Alliteration: the repetition of a consonant sound at the start of 2 or more closely
placed words.
‘we will’ -‘w’ sound is repeated

15. Literary devices:-
Symbol :‘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.
Repetition : ‘Let’s -to create a bond with reader and stress his point

16. Stanza-II
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.

17. EXPLANATION-
Poetsaysthatitwouldbeararesituationwhentherewillbenoenginesworking.Herehe
wantstostaythatifeverythingcomestostandstill,itwillbeaverydifferentmoment.Ifall
theengineslikethevehiclesandmachinesstop,thentherewillbeasudden,strange
situationastheworldwillexperienceasuddencalmness.Peoplewillnotbeinarushto
achievematerialthingsoneafteranother.Furtherthepoetsaysthatthefishermanwillalso
stopandnotharmwhalesinthesea.Thismeansthatthepoetisurgingeveryonenotto
harmtheanimals.Herehegivestheexampleofwhaleswhicharebeinghuntedforthe
purposeoffoodortrade.Healsowantspeopletocalmdownsothattheycanstopandsee
whattheyhaveachievedorlost.Forthishegivestheexampleofthemanwhogatherssalt,
whosehandsarehurt.Herehewantseveryonetostopforawhileinordertoseeandfeel
theirachievementsandhowmuchtheyhavelostforthesakeofattainingsuchmaterialistic
things.

18. Points to remember
When everything will come to a standstill, it will be a rare situation.
1.No one will be in a rush, there will be no engines running.
2.Everyone will be calm and quiet, united with each other in a strange
atmosphere.
3.It will be strange because it has never happened earlier.
4.No person would be harming any other living being either for food or to
earn his livelihood.
5.All the people who work endlessly will get some time to look at their
injuries and the damage they have caused to their body.

19. Literary devices -
Alliteration-
‘we would’-‘w’ sound is repeated
‘Sudden strangeness’-‘s’ sound is repeated
‘his hurt hands’ -‘h’ sound is repeated

20. Literary devices -
Symbolic image--
‘Fishermen in the cold sea………...hurt hands’-showing
how man is ruthlessly destroying nature and harming
other species.
‘hurt hands-harming by corrosive (damaging)activities.

21. Stanza-III
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.
What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.

22. Explanation-
Thepoetaskseveryonetostopthoseactivitieswhicharedamagingthe
environment.Todayallthehumanbeingsaremakingmoneyby
damagingtheenvironmentwiththeiractivitiessuchasmining,
deforestation,lettingthechemicalwasteintorivers,etc.Thepoetasks
usnottodoso.Healsorequestspeoplenottobeinvolvedinwarsas
thereisnobenefitofachievingsuchvictoryinwhichnooneisleftalive.
Hesayssobecausewarsandenvironmentaldamagewillleadtonolife
onearth.Rather,hewantspeopletoadoptanewapproachtowardslife
andmankind.Hesaysthatyoushouldtreatyourenemylikebrothers
andpromotepeaceandharmonyintheworld.

23. Points to remember -
1.The people who exploit the green wealth of nature by deforestation, or
mining, or fishing in the deep seas and the soldiers who use weapons
to kill fellow human beings need some time to introspect into the
consequences of their actions. They are merely doing their job or
following orders.
2.He wants them to put on ‘new clothes’ i.e. to adopt a new approach
towards life and to realize that killing so many people is not a victory.
3.He wants all of us to be united as one, consider our enemy to be our
brother.
4.He is promoting brotherhood, peace and unity.
5.He does not want us to stop our work but to take some time and
analyze the results of our deeds.

24. Literary devices -
Alliteration:‘wars with’-‘w’ sound is repeated,
‘clean clothes’ -‘c’ sound is repeated
Assonance:use of vowel ‘o’
(victory with no survivors, would put on clean
clothes and walk about with their brothers)
Repetition: use of ‘war’
Symbol : brothers(of mankind)

25. Literary devices -
Metaphor:‘Those who.........put on clean clothes’-shed
blood soiled clothes and don on clean i.e.
cleanse soul,heart ,mind,purging it of all anger
and hatred
‘In the shade’ -just as shade protects us from the
harsh sun ,we will protect and shelter each other as
brothers,thus live in peace and harmony.

26. Stanza -IV
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could perhaps a
huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding
ourselves
and of threatening ourselves
with death.

27. Explanation-
Nowthepoetwantstoclarifytohisreadersthatwhenheasksthem
tostopfromsayingordoinganything,hedoesn’twantanyoneto
becomeanonactiveperson.Nonactiveisapersonwhoremains
idleanddoesn’tdoanything.Here,hesimplymeansthatweshould
stopandseetheconsequencesofourdeeds.Thepoetdoesn’twant
toseepeoplebeingkilledduetotheirgreedformoneyand
expansionofterritories.Further,hesaysthatpeopleare
continuouslyworkingtoachievetheirtaskswithouteventhinking
abouttheirresults.Theyareinfearofdeathandtherefore,wantto
achievemostofthethingsbeforetheirdeath.

28. Hereheurgesthemtostopforawhileandtakesome
momenttorelishonwhattheyhaveachievedtillnow.
Everyonehereislivingalifeinwhichhewantstoachieve
variousthingsoneafteranother.Butnowthepoetsaysit
isthetimetostopandseewhathasbeenachievedand
shouldbeenjoyed.Thiswillhelpusskipthesadness
whichhasbecomesoprominentinourlives.Thesadness
ofnotenjoyingwhatwehaveachievedandthegreedto
achievewhatnextisinthelisttobeachieved.

29. Points to remember -
1.All human beings work endlessly with the aim of completing
all their tasks.
2.They are driven by the target of survival and the threat of
death.
3.So they are in a mad rush to accomplish all their work.
4.He says that perhaps, if they pause for a while, they can
appreciate their achievements and their lives would become
happier.
5.He suggests that by keeping quiet, we will be able to
understand the true purpose of our life.

30. Literary devices -
Alliteration: we were, so single -minded
Enjambment:and for once could perhaps a huge
silence……..of threatening ourselves
with death.

31. Stanza -V
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.

32. Explanation-
So,nowthepoetsuggeststohumanbeingsthatweshouldlearnalessonfrom
Earth.Duringthewinterseverythingfreezesandbecomeslifeless.Butwhenthe
seasonchangesandit'stheonsetofspring,everythingpresentinnaturesuch
asthetrees,birds,rivers,etcgetslife.Sohere,thepoet,bygivingtheexample
ofnature,wantstosaythatallthehumanbeingsshouldstopandtrytojudge
theirdeeds.Theycantryandmaketheirlifebetterwithcalmness,peace.
Finally,heendsupbysayingthatnowhewillcountuptotwelvesothatweall
maybecomequiet.Here‘quiet’meanstocalmdownourselvesandmove
towardsthepathofpeaceandharmony.Aftersayingthishesays‘Iwillgo’.He
sayssoashehasconveyedhismessagetothepeopleandwantsthemtobe
leftalonetothinkaboutitandworkinthedirectionofpeace.

33. Points to remember -
The poet suggests us to take a teaching from nature.
1.As the Earth undergoes changes, in winter, everything freezes,
becomes lifeless but after some time, the season changes again,
and everything comes back to life.
2.Similarly, taking a pause and introspecting into our lives will give it a
new meaning. We will be able to understand the purpose of our life.
It will be like a re-birth of the soul.
3.The poet has conveyed to all the people the purpose of his message
and so he asks them once again to take a pause, count till twelve
and walks out of the scene, keeping the scene open for all the
people on the Earth to experience this for times to come.

34. Literary devices -
Symbol: ‘Earth can teach us as when
everything……’
Antitheses : dead...alive

36. Thank You