KEEPING QUIET

Q1. What will counting up to twelve & keeping still help us achieve?

A. Counting up to twelve & keeping still will help us to appreciate moments of peace, togetherness and
make us introspect & also to put brake on the rush & humdrum / hustle-bustle of life. The poet wants all
of us to think in those moments of life about the harmful activities that we do to harm ourselves, the
mankind & nature. In such a moment we can find solution to all our problems & difficulties and will
make us realise our follies. Moreover, during those moments we'll forget our differences & enter into
the world of peace.

Q2. What does count to twelve imply?

OR

What is the significance of number twelve?

A. The poet urges to bring the session of introspection through this expression . Twelve may stand for
the hours on a clock or months in a year. In both cases, the number twelve indicates time if human
activity that poet wishes to put to rest.

3. Do you think poet advocates total inactivity & death?

A. No, the poet does not advocate total inactivity and death. He wants human activities to be positively
channelised, infact he wants inhuman & destructive activities, especially those which are involved in
wars to be stopped. He wants the human race to live in peace & harmony, preserve the environment &
nature and promote constructive activities.

Q4. what is the 'sadness" that the poet refers to in the poem?

A. The 'sadness' that the poet refers to is the sadnes of isolation of which the modern man has become
its victim. Man in his race towards materialism has sacrificed the fulfilment of his emotional needs. He
does not understand its importance & has thus become sad and isolated. His sadness has also made him
selfish. He fails to understand that a healthy life can be lived only in harmony his fellow beings & not in
isolation.

Q5. What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent
stillness?

OR

According to Pablo Neruda, what is it that human beings can learn from nature?
A. According to the poet, the Earth is a symbol of nature from where the human beings can learn a
lesson. The earth teaches us the best lesson in silence. It sends us a message that when everything o
earth seems silent and quiet, it nurtures so much life underneath. Life moves on like an ongoing process
& the cycle of birth & death, decay and renewal continues. The earth can teach us a lesson of preserving
& resurrecting life. It teaches us how new life emerges from the ashes of dead remains.

The poet wants to invoke the symbol of automatic self-regeneration from nature. This symbol teaches
the human beings to be inspired by throbbing life that remains unnoticed under the cover of decay.
Human beings can thus learn that life and death go hand-in-hand, so one should focus on life without
worrying about death.

Q6. Whom is the poet addressing & what does he want them to do?

A. The poet is addressing mankind at large. He wants them to stop their activities for a while and sit
quietly & peacefully to introspect the consequences of their mindless actions. He believes that by
observing silence, man can attain peace & tranquility. The poet wants to promote peace & brotherhood
in the world and he feels that as as men are expressing their views, differences, the unrest will prevail.
Thus the poet wants men on earth to keep quiet & defeat restlessness.

Q7 . What will possibly be the effect of keeping quiet?

A. Keeping quiet will give us an opportunity to (analyse our inner-selves) / introspect as well as our
relationship with our fellow beings & surroundings. The effect of this will be on our careless &
irresponsible attitude towards everything such as the fishermen would not kill the whales, there we be
no wars, no environment degradation & all would be together in calm, peaceful & happier world.

Q8. What would be an exotic moment for men?

A. The poet feels that if men keeps quiet for sometime & indulges in introspection, that moment of
silence would be an exotic moment because it could be an instance of universal brotherhood, peace &
harmony doing away with his workaholic attitude. In that moment men would initiate self- analysis &
shed away his differences with his fellow-mates. In this exotic moment, he would enjoy the bliss of
silence away from hustle-bustle of modern life.

Q9. Why does one feel a 'sudden strangeness' on keeping quiet?

A. One feels a 'sudden strangeness' because we're not used to peaceful moments. We're rushing for
mad race for materialism. Moreover, the moments of introspection will build a sudden feeling of
universal brotherhood. This feeling of togetherness will be new, unfamiliar and therefore it will be
strange.

Q10. How will keeping quiet protect our environment?

A. Keeping quiet will help us to realise the damaging effects of our thoughtless actions on nature and on
self. Through the images of 'fishermen' and 'man gathering salt' the poet highlights this danger. The
fishermen would not kill whales in the sea & wars would not be waged against the environment, if we
observe moments of silence. Quiet moments will allow time to review our actions & hence protect
environment.

Q11. What are the different kinds of wars mentioned in the poem?

A. The poet refers to wars harming environment i.e. green wars, chemical wars and wars fought with
weapons. Together these wars result in massive fires, release of toxic gases and destruction of all
greenery and life on earth. These wars bring a kind of victory which cannot be celebrated since it does
not leave behind any survivors.

A time zone of silence would make us aware about this bitter reality. When such a conscious effort for
introspection would be made, men would shed their bloody war garments and would wear their new
unsoiled clothes i.e. adopt a new approach of life.

Q12. What suggestion does the poet give to avoid these wars?

A. The poet suggests men to just wear clean clothes and walk around leisurely with his fellow brothers in
the shade in the moments of silence. These moments of brotherhood which men shell experience by
adopting a fresh approach to life symbolised by his clean clothes that would put in end to wars that
destroy all who are involved and walk in shade in place of violence and rage of conflict.

Q13. 'Life is what it is about ...' how is keeping quiet related to life?

A. Life is an ongoing process and it cannot come to a stand still even after death because old always give
birth to new. Keeping quiet is related to life because it provides a pause to review the actions, the
decisions and the entire purpose of human existence. Life is about doing meaningful, constructive,
positive and peaceful activities without harming mankind and nature.

Q14. According to Pablo Neruda, what should we not do when we keep quiet?

A. The poet wants us to stop use of all languages and to stop the use of gestures by hands. Man's silence
and inactivity will prove to be a boon for mankind. All discriminations on the basis of languages and
nationality will disappear. If for some time, man's activities would come to a standstill and he could stop
gesturing by flaying his arms or by not using warfare gadgets, peace and harmony will prevail.

Q15. What are the fishermen symbolic of? What would happen if fishermen do not harm the Whales?

A. The fisherman is symbolic of man's indiscriminate exploitation of nature for his interest and greed.
When fisherman do not harm the whales The Innocent animals will no longer be under threat of
extinction.

Q16. 'I want no truck with death'. Explain.

Q17. 'Keeping our lives moving'. Explain.

A. The expression is comment on the modern man's mechanised and busy life. Man is treading the path
of destruction in the name of progress. Trapped in a rat race of mad competition, he knows no rest or
peace.