Poem 2: Keeping Quiet
Poet: Pablo Neruda
📝 Poem Summary
In this poem, Pablo Neruda emphasizes the importance of silence and self-introspection. He urges people to stop their worldly activities, speech, and movements for a moment (counting to twelve) to experience a moment of peace and brotherhood. He clarifies that this stillness is not death, but a way to refresh our lives and understand ourselves better.
📚 Part 1: Complete NCERT Solutions
Includes "Think As You Read" questions.
Q1: What will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us achieve?
Ans: Counting up to twelve and keeping still will help us achieve a moment of peace and silence. It will allow us to introspect and understand ourselves better. It provides an opportunity to pause our destructive activities and feel a sense of unity and mutual understanding.
Q2: Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death?
Ans: No, the poet clarifies that he does not want "total inactivity" to be confused with "death." By stillness, he means stopping our restless and harmful activities for a moment to introspect. He wants life to go on, but with a better understanding, not the permanent silence of death.
Q3: What is the 'sadness' that the poet refers to in the poem?
Ans: The 'sadness' refers to the tragedy of never understanding ourselves. We are always in a rush to achieve things, threatening ourselves with death and destruction. This lack of self-awareness and constant movement leads to a deep sadness that silence can help remove.
Q4: What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent stillness?
Ans: The poet uses the symbol of the Earth. In winter, the earth appears dead and still, but dormant seeds are lying underneath. Later, in spring, it proves to be alive with new plants. This shows that stillness does not mean inactivity; it is a time for rejuvenation.
⚡ Part 2: Extra Practice & PYQs
Q1: Why does the poet want us to keep quiet?
Ans: The poet wants us to keep quiet to take a break from our monotonous and rushing lives. Silence will help us introspect, reduce misunderstandings, and foster a sense of universal brotherhood.
Q2: "Fishermen in the cold sea / would not harm whales / and the man gathering salt / would look at his hurt hands." Explain.
Ans: This stanza highlights that during the moment of silence:
- Nature: Humans will stop destroying nature (fishermen harming whales).
- Self: Humans will stop harming themselves (the salt gatherer noticing his own pain).
Q3: What does the poet mean by "victory with no survivors"?
Ans: The poet criticizes wars (green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire). He says that even if a side "wins" such a war, the destruction is so total that there are no survivors left to celebrate the victory. It emphasizes the futility of war.
Q4: Why does the poet suggest counting to "twelve"?
Ans: "Twelve" likely represents the twelve markings on a clock or the twelve months of a year. It symbolizes a full cycle of time, urging us to pause for a significant moment to reset our lives.
Q5: How would "keeping quiet" affect the "exotic moment"?
Ans: The moment of keeping quiet would be "exotic" (unusual and wonderful) because there would be no rush and no noise of engines. For the first time, humanity would be united in a "sudden strangeness," free from the divides of language and borders.
📖 Part 3: Word Meanings
| Word | Meaning in Context |
|---|---|
| Exotic | Unusual, strange, or exciting (referring to the moment of silence). |
| Interrupted | Stopped or hindered for a time. |
| Survivors | People who remain alive after an event (war/disaster). |
| Truck with | To associate or have dealings with (he wants no truck with death). |
| Inactivity | The state of doing nothing. |
| Single-minded | Focusing on only one aim (our obsession with moving forward). |