KEEPING QUIET by Pablo Neruda

THE POET
Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) was the pen name of the Chilean writer and politician Neftali Ricardo Reyes
Basoalto. With his works translated into many languages, Pablo Neruda is considered one of the greatest and
most influential poets of the twentieth century. In 1971 Neruda won the Nobel Prize for literature. Colombian
novelist Gabriel Gracia Marquez called him the greatest poet of the twentieth century in any language.
He wrote in green ink which was his personal symbol for desire and hope. His writings are simple,
wherein lies their beauty.
Originally written in Spanish, the essence of this poem is based on introspection and
retrospection. The poet feels that some soul – searching is needed for us to be at peace with
ourselves and others.

Theme
The poem emphasizes on the necessity of quit Introspection to create a feeling of mutual understanding among
human beings. It conveys Neruda’s philosophy of an exotic moment of silence and inactivity which can be an
antidote to war ,hatred ,exploitation .By keeping Quiet and understanding itself mankind can stop harming itself
with death and destruction.

Road to a BETTER World:

Silence/Inactivity→Introspection→Realization→Mutual
Understanding→Peace→A Better World
Introduction to the lesson
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.

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.

Rhyme scheme of the poem

The poem is written in free verse. It does not follow any rhyme scheme.

Texual Explanation
First stanza
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.

i. 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.
ii. He wants all of us to be calm and still.
iii. 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.
iv. This will bring unity among all the humans on the face of the Earth.
v. For at least one moment, no one shall move his arms either to signal, or to fight, or argue with each other.

The poet here requests everyone to count till twelve in their own mind and to stop for a while. May be this
‘twelve’ referred by the poet is the twelve hours in the clock or the twelve months in an year. He wants
everyone to stop and calm down. The poet urges everyone not to speak any language. As we all know
that there are different languages spoken in different parts of the earth which sometimes become a barrier
in our way for peace. So, he asks people not to speak. Not only this, he also wants us to stop moving our
arms. By using the word ‘arms’ he means the weapons which are used by different countries to raise a war
against each other. So basically the poet is demanding peace from all of us.
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
Second stanza
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.
 Explanation
When everything will come to a standstill, it will be a rare situation.

i. No one will be in a rush, there will be no engines running.

ii. Everyone will be calm and quiet, united with each other in a strange atmosphere.
iii. It will be strange because it has never happened earlier.
iv. No person would be harming any other living being either for food or to earn his livelihood.
v. All the people who work endlessly will get some time to look at their injuries and the damage they have
caused to their body.

Poet says that it would be a rare situation when there will be no engines working. Here he wants to stay
that if everything comes to standstill, it will be a very different moment. If all the engines like the vehicles
and machines stop, then there will be a sudden, strange situation as the world will experience a sudden
calmness. People will not be in a rush to achieve material things one after another. Further the poet says
that the fisherman will also stop and not harm whales in the sea. This means that the poet is urging
everyone not to harm the animals. Here he gives the example of whales which are being hunted for the
purpose of food or trade. He also wants people to calm down so that they can stop and see what they have
achieved or lost. For this he gives the example of the man who gathers salt, whose hands are hurt. Here
he wants everyone to stop for a while in order to see and feel their achievements and how much they have
lost for the sake of attaining such materialistic things.
Literary devices:
Alliteration- ‘we would’ - ‘w’ sound is repeated, ‘sudden strangeness’ - ‘s’ sound is repeated, ‘his hurt
hands’ - ‘h’ sound is repeated
Third stanza

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.

Explanation

i. 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.
ii. 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.
iii. He wants all of us to be united as one, consider our enemy to be our brother.
iv. He is promoting brotherhood, peace and unity.
v. He does not want us to stop our works but to take some time and analyze the results of our deeds.

The poet asks everyone to stop those activities which are damaging the environment. Today all the human
beings are making money by damaging the environment with their activities such as mining, deforestation,
letting the chemical waste into rivers, etc. The poet asks us not to do so. He also requests people not to
involve in wars as there is no benefit of achieving such victory in which no one is left alive. He says so
because wars and environmental damage will lead to no life on earth. Rather, he wants people to adopt a
 new approach towards life and mankind. He says that you should treat your enemy like brothers and
promote peace and harmony in the world.
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’
Fourth stanza

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.

Explanation

i.
All human beings work endlessly with the aim of completing all their tasks.
ii.
They are driven by the target of survival and the threat of death.
iii.
So they are in a mad rush to accomplish all their works.
[Link] says that perhaps, if they pause for a while, they can appreciate their achievements and their lives
would become happier.
v. He suggests that by keeping quiet, we will be able to understand the true purpose of our life.

Now the poet wants to clarify to his readers that when he asks them to stop from saying or doing anything,
he doesn’t want anyone to become a non active person. Non active is a person who remains idle and
doesn’t do anything. Here, he simply means that we should stop and see the consequences of our deeds.
The poet doesn’t want to see people being killed due to their greed for money and expansion of territories.
Further, he says that people are continuously working to achieve their tasks without even thinking about
their results. They are in fear of death and therefore, want to achieve most of the things before their death.
Here he urges them to stop for a while and take some moment to relish on what they have achieved till
now. Everyone here is living a life in which he wants to achieve various things one after another. But now
the poet says it is the time to stop and see what has been achieved and should be enjoyed. This will help
us skip the sadness which has become so prominent in our lives. The sadness of not enjoying what we
have achieved and the greed to achieve what next is in the list to be achieved.
Literary devices
Alliteration: we were, so single - minded
enjambment: and for once could perhaps a huge silence……..of threatening ourselves with death.
Fifth stanza

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.
 Explanation
The poet suggests us to take a teaching from nature.

i. 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.
ii. 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.
iii. 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.

So, now the poet suggests to the human beings that we should learn a lesson from Earth. During the
winters everything freezes and becomes lifeless. But when season changes and its the onset of spring
season, everything present in the nature such as the trees, birds, rivers, etc gets life. So here, the poet, by
giving the example of nature, wants to say that all the human beings should stop and try to judge their
deeds. They can try and make their life better with calmness, peace. Finally, he ends up by saying that
now he will count upto twelve so that we all may become quiet. Here ‘quiet’ means to calm down ourselves
and move towards the path of peace and harmony. After saying this he says ‘I will go’. He says so as he
has conveyed his message to the people and wants them to be left alone to think about it and work in the
direction of peace.

Question and Answers

Q1- What will counting upto twelve and keeping still help us achieve?
A1-If we count upto twelve and keep still, it will give us some time to analyze our deeds. It will allow us
some moments to think about the result of our activities. People in the world are involved in wars and are
also damaging the environment in order to achieve their aims. Unfortunately this is taking all of us toward
our own end. So, we need to think in order to achieve peace and harmony.
Q2- Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death?
A2- No, the poet doesn’t advocate total inactivity and death. He clarifies this in his poem that he wants all
the people to just stop for a while in order to analyze their activities and their consequences. He wants
human beings not to support war and damage to the environment.
Q3- What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
A3- The sadness is the result of our own actions and deeds. According to the poet we all are in a hurry of
achieving various tasks in our life. This rush sometimes proves dangerous for us. As we don’t analyze our
actions, so we land ourselves in a number of problems. These problems then become the reason for our
sadness as referred to in the poem.
Q4- What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent
stillness?
A4- The poet takes the example of earth to prove that there can be life under apparent stillness. The earth
never gets inactive. We experience the change in the seasons which brings so many different things with
it. In winters, things come to a standstill as the water bodies freeze; the trees shed their leaves, etc. But as
soon as the spring season comes, it brings with it the lovely flowers, flowing rivers and a new life is given
to the nature. So, the poet wants to convey that we should stay calm but that doesn’t mean that it will bring
total inactivity and stillness.
SOLVED QUESTIONS:
Read the extracts given below and answer the following questions:
1. “Perhaps the Earth can teach us
As when everything seems dead
And later proves to be alive
 Now I will count upto twelve
And you keep quiet and I will go.”
a) What does the Earth teach us?
b) What does the poet mean to achieve by counting upto twelve?
c) What is the significance of “keeping quiet”?
Ans. a) The earth teaches us how new life springs from dead remains and how there is life under apparent
stillness.
b) The poet wants to achieve peace by counting upto twelve. He wants us to introspect in a moment of silence.
c) Keeping quiet doesn’t mean being idle. It means that we should avoid all such activities, which are hurting the
nature and, in turn, us.
2. “ It would be an exotic moment,
Without rush, without engines,
We would all be together
In a sudden strangeness.”
a) What will happen if there is no rush or running of engines?
b) Why would it be called an exotic moment?
c) How would we feel at that moment?
Ans. a) It is an ecstatic moment of tranquility without rush or running of engines.
b) It would be an exotic moment because it will be an instance of universal peace and brotherhood. In that
moment, all of us would initiate introspection through meditation and the whole world will be enveloped in
quietness.
c) We would feel very strange at the moment, because at that time everyone will be feeling oneness with
their fellow human beings in it. It will be a new feeling altogether.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Why does the poet want us to keep quiet?
Ans. The poet wants us to keep quiet to feel the strangeness of being quiet. When we all will keep quiet it
will be an exotic moment which will allow us to establish communion with our fellow beings and all other
living beings at spiritual level.
2. Does the poet advocate total inactivity and death by suggesting to be quiet?
Ans. No, the poet does not advocate it. He wants no truck with death. In fact he wants to live life full
bloodedly. But by advocating quietness he wants mixing of physical and spiritual aspect of life.
3. Why does not the poet want us to speak in any language?
Ans. The poet wants us not to speak in any language to introspect and know what we are about- know the
meaning of our existence. He wants everybody to know his spirit and have spiritual contact with others for
some time for which no language is required.
UNSOLVED QUESTIONS
1. How does the poet differentiate inactivity from death?
2. What is the sadness that we can overcome by keeping silent and still?
3. According to the poet, “silence is profound”. Justify