FLAMINGO POEM 3

KEEPING QUIET - BY PABLO NERUDA

THE POET
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and later the legal name of the Chilean poet-diplomat and
politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto (July 12, 1904 – September 23, 1973). He derived his
pen name from the Czech poet Jan Neruda. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. With
his works being translated into many languages, he is considered one of the most influential
poets of the 20th century.

THEME
Keeping Quiet is a poem written by Pablo Neruda in Spanish, which has been translated in
English. In this poem, the Nobel Prize winner poet aims to appeal to the readers to take a little
time out of their busy schedules and life for a little introspection and retrospection. The title,
“Keeping Quiet”, is symbolic to stop all the activities, keeping quiet in the mind, not doing
anything, but to question and understand the purpose of the world that humans have created
around themselves.

MESSAGE
The poem conveys Neruda’s philosophy of quiet introspection to help humans rise above caste,
creed, language, geographical differences and nationalities, in order to create a feeling of mutual
understanding among them. Counting to twelve is the first step towards achieving this moment
that symbolizes the strength of togetherness and thereby brings back nobility, thoughtful
attention and universal brotherhood.

GIST OF THE POEM

 The poet talks about the need of silence and quiet introspection and the importance of
quietude and calmness. He also talks about creating a feeling of mutual understanding
among human beings.
 The poet asks us to keep still and count up to twelve as doing so will help us achieve
oneness and togetherness ( just like traversing the twelve marks of a clock face or the
twelve months of a year) . He also asks us to sit still for a moment
 We should not speak any language (as language is one of the main factors separating
us). We should not move our arms so much (as this is symbolic of not only action but
also arms as in weapons)
 It will be a moment of complete silence without rush or worry. This would be an exotic
(or unique) moment made beautiful by the strangeness of silence.
 This silence is a blissful blessing as it unites mankind..
 As a result of this, the fisherman would not hunt the whales on the seas of the Polar
Regions. Even the man gathering salt would stop working and look at his hurt hands and
 reflect on the pain and harm his strenuous task has caused him. He would stop robbing
the seas of their wealth
 This strange and unifying silence will stop all such activities.
 All kinds of wars must be stopped at once. The green wars against the environment, wars
with poisonous gases, devastating firearms and weapons that create mass destruction
must be stopped at once.
 People who are preparing for wars all the time, leaving no survivors behind, ought to find
time to wear new clothes (embrace pure thoughts) and walk around with their brothers
(universal brotherhood) in the shade (created by trees that have not been cut down)
strengthening the message of peace and feeling of brotherhood in the absence of wars.
 At the same time the poet cautions not to confuse stillness with total inactivity (a
complete suspension of activities). Life is an on-going process and there should be no
truck with death (should not be associated with death). Life is to be lived with positive
attitude.
 But he feels that if for once we do not focus ourselves single-mindedly to keep our lives
moving and instead do some introspection or spend some time in silence doing nothing,
we can understand ourselves better and escape from sadness (caused by the threatening
activities of mankind).
 The earth can teach us a lesson how everything comes to a dead end and comes to life
again as when dormant seeds sprout to life and bear fruit.
 In the same manner a quiet introspection can bring all evil and destructive thoughts to an
end and bring in a new life of peace and tranquility.
 Now the poet will count up to twelve and they should keep quiet(and start introspecting)
and he will go (to spread the message among others).

SOLVED QUESTIONS (EXTRACTS)

1. Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:
“Fishermen in the cold sea
Would not harm whales
And the man gathering salt
Would look at his hurt hands.”
a) What is ‘fisherman’ symbolic of?
The fisherman symbolizes man’s indiscriminate exploitation of nature for his vested interests.

b) What will happen when fishermen do not harm whales?

The whales will no longer be on the verge of extinction. A sense of co-existence will be accepted
by all people.

c) What has happened to the man gathering salt? What must he do?
The man gathering salt has injured his hands. He must take care of his hurt hands and should
realize that his actions are self-destructive.
d) What would happen in this moment of silence?
This moment of unifying silence will make humans become conscious of the harm they are
causing to others and to themselves and will work towards a better future filled with peace, co-
existence, mutual understanding and harmony.

e) What image does the poet create in the last line?

The poet creates the image of incessant suffering. In his effort to add comforts to his life, the
human has paid no heed to the pain that he has caused to himself.

2. Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:

” Perhaps the earth can teach us
As when everything seems
dead And later prove to be
alive
Now I’ll count up to twelve
And you keep quiet and I will
go.”
a) Who can teach us and what?
.The Earth can teach us how life exists under apparent stillness, how to live even when there is
silence. Beneath its dormant surface there exists an amazing life. It also teaches us the art of
preserving and resurrecting life. Likewise, quiet introspection will enable us to live a life of
peace and harmony and bring about a true awakening.

b) Why does the speaker count up to twelve?

The poet counts up to twelve to take time and to calm down. It also refers to the twelve markings
on the clock face to measure time. At twelve, despite their differences, the hands of the clock
become one. Also, after twelve months the cycle of a year is completed and one can start afresh.
Thus Neruda appeals to the readers to take these symbolic twelve seconds to begin the journey
from strife, barriers and destruction to peace, unity and replenishment..

c) Explain ‘you keep quiet and I will go’?

The poet wants us all to keep quiet and experience the unique moment of realization and peace.
While we do that he will go and pass on the message to another group of people and leave us to
meditate, introspect and revel in that exotic moment of silence.

3. Read the stanza and answer the questions that follow:

“What I want should not be
confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about.
 I want no truck with death”
a) What does Neruda imply by total inactivity?
The poet implies that all destructive acts towards man and nature must come to a total standstill.
Total inactivity, according to him, does not imply mankind becoming inactive and bringing life
to a standstill. That would mean total stagnation with no human activities taking place on the
face of the earth.

b) What is life all about?

Life is an ongoing process. It should be lived for what it is. So under no circumstances can it be
brought to a standstill. Humanity must move on.
c) Explain I want no truck with death.
The poet wants to make it very clear that he is not advocating death like silence. He just wants to
initiate and facilitate introspection, not bring life to an end.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Why does Pablo Neruda urge us to keep still?
Stillness is necessary for reflection and quiet introspection. We can hear the voice of our
conscience and thus withdraw ourselves from undesirable actions and contribute to create
a society of peace and mutual understanding.

2. What will keeping quiet achieve?

Keeping quiet will help us achieve peace and tranquility. It will be a time for
introspection. It will help in erasing all cruel activities. Talking too much will cause harm
while keeping quiet will heal the wounds.

3. What is the exotic moment that the poet wishes for?

The exotic moment would be when there would be no rush, no noise and people would
put a stop to all harmful activities and they would be all together in this extraordinary
moment. This would be a unique and unifying moment.

4. What does the poet expect of fishermen and why?

The poet expects the fishermen to stop hurting the whales while fishing. They should
become conscious of this harm they are causing to the whales and other creatures of
nature which are on the verge of extinction as a result of such activities. Once there is no
violence, all the evil will come to an end.

5. What do the hurt hands imply?

The hurt hands imply that in this mad rush to achieve goals, man has lost all care and
concern for himself and his environment. In his effort to add comfort to his life, he has
paid no heed to the pain he has been causing to himself.

6. What is the sadness referred to in the poem?

The sadness Pablo Neruda refers to in his poem is that of never understanding ourselves
due to the total absence of introspection. It also arises out of our mad rush to achieve
 everything quickly due to our constant fear of the brevity of our lives. It is about knowing
so much and yet not being able to understand ourselves and we end up threatening
ourselves with death.

7. Why do men become sad? How can this sadness be overcome?

Men fail to understand themselves. They are always threatening themselves with death
through their actions.. They become sad when they witness the destruction and
devastation all around them. A long silence might interrupt this sadness and make them
experience a peace of mind.

8. What symbol has the poet invoked to say that there can be life under apparent stillness?
The poet has personified the earth as a teacher, where it teaches us the best lesson in
silence. It sends us a strong message that though everything on earth seems silent and
quiet, it nurtures so much life underneath. Under that seeming suspension of activities,
life moves on in an ongoing process and the cycle of birth, death, decay and renewal
continues. Thus, humans should learn to create and not to destroy, to give and not to take
or expect always.

9. ’Under the apparent stillness there is life’. Justify.

The poet does not want to equate stillness with total inactivity. We can learn from the
earth when everything seems dead, the earth still remains alive. Under the apparent
stillness there is life. The earth appears inactive yet it is constantly and selflessly
productive. Life pulsates and throbs underneath in the form of dormant seeds. In the same
way our introspecting silence will bring about true knowledge and awakening.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

1. Why shouldn’t we speak any language and move our arms so much?
2. How does the poet distinguish ‘stillness’ from ‘total inactivity’? Explain.
3. What are the various wars mentioned? What is the result of these wars?
4. What would be the result of quietude?
5. What is the ‘exotic moment ’mentioned in the poem and how can we achieve it?
6. Explain of threatening ourselves with death.
7. What has man single-mindedly focused on and to what effect?