Keeping Quiet Summary, Theme, Questions, Comprehension NCERT Class 12 English Poem 3

Keeping Quiet’s summary will enable the students to understand the main theme of the poem. The summary is written by an eminent English teacher with 25 years of experience teaching class 12 students.

About the Poet: Keeping Quiet

Pablo Neruda is the pen name of Neftali Ricardo Reyes (1894–1973). He was born in the town of Parral in Chile. His poems are full of understandable images. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in the year 1971. In this poem, the poet tells us the importance of silence, which helps in understanding each other to develop a better human relationship.

Keeping Quiet Summary NCERT Class 12 English

Introduction

In his poem Keeping Quiet, Pablo Neruda appeals to us to keep quiet and introspect ourselves to promote a feeling of mutual understanding among all human beings. He asks us to keep quiet and count up to twelve so that we can introspect ourselves and think of the Earth.

Main Points of the Summary

At the beginning of the poem, the poet appeals to us to “count to twelve.”..and keep still.” We must not speak in any language for one second and move our arms to hug our brothers and sisters to feel oneness among all the people of this earth. In this poem, Keeping Quiet, the poet tells us the importance of silence, which helps in understanding each other to develop a better human relationship.

The poet wants us to keep quiet and count to twelve, and then we will all “keep still.” The poet tells us the benefit of keeping quiet. He wants us to be in silence for a second on the surface of “the Earth”. Once we stop our moments for a second, everything will stop. There will be no sounds of engines or machines, and ultimately, there will be sound pollution on the Earth. This will be an “exotic moment” when there won’t be a rush of traffic and factories.

Fishermen are not going to harm whales when we stop our minutes for a second. The salt workers will get time to check their hands. He further requests the people who are engaged in green wars to stop such activities and to work together with the people. His emphasis is not on total “inactivity” but on silence, where we can introspect ourselves. He wants people to be happy and feel attached. This quietness will help us to remove our sadness and anxiety. This process will help us to understand each other. Therefore, keeping quiet will create an understandable world.

Conclusion

It explains that we should protect the Earth for the next generation. Ensure the stability of the Earth for life on it. We should all respect all humanity by reflecting on our desires. Keeping Quiet reflects the universal brotherhood where we are the stewards of the Earth.

Essay Type Questions: What is the theme or central idea of the poem or title, Keeping Quiet? (H.B.S.E. 2014, 2020)

The poet, Pablo Neruda, wants to convey through his poem, Keeping Quiet, that stillness is important for human beings. He conveys this idea through the title of the poem. We are always busy with our actions and don’t have time for self-reflection. Therefore, the poet wants us to be still for a second, and during this stillness, we will realise the importance of being quiet in our acts. This moment of silence will be an esoteric moment for the whole world.

Fishermen are not going to harm whales when we stop our minutes for a second. The salt workers will get time to check their hands. He further requests the people who are engaged in green wars to stop such activities and to work together with the people. His emphasis is not on total “inactivity” but on silence, where we can introspect ourselves. He wants people to be happy and feel attached. This quietness will help us to remove our sadness and anxiety. This process will help us to understand each other. Therefore, keeping quiet will create an understandable world where everyone will introspect themselves.

Question 2. Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death? Why/Why not? (H.B.S.E. 2019, 2020)

The poet’s emphasis on stillness doesn’t mean complete inaction in all things. He wants calmness in all things to give relief to the Earth and the people who don’t understand the importance of self-realisation. They don’t have enough time to understand their problems. Fishermen are not going to harm whales when we stop our actions for a second. The salt workers will get time to check their hands. He further requests the people who are engaged in green wars to stop such activities and to work together with the people. His emphasis is not on total “inactivity” but on silence, where we can introspect ourselves. He wants people to be happy and feel attached. This quietness will help us to remove our sadness and anxiety. Therefore, stillness is not total inactivity but a balance between action and silence.

Keeping Quiet Textual Questions NCERT Class 12 English

Think it out

Q.1. What will count up to twelve and keep still help us achieve? (HBSE 2014).

He wants us to stop all activities for a few seconds to reflect on our worldly problems. This moment will energise us and help us refresh our thinking to gain a new concept of friendship among human beings. He wants a world where even workers can take care of themselves.

Q.2. Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death?

The poet’s emphasis on stillness doesn’t mean complete inaction in all things. He wants calmness in all things to give relief to the Earth and the people who don’t understand the importance of self-realisation. They don’t have enough time to understand their problems.

Q.3. What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?

The poet refers to human beings’ thoughts and actions. People don’t understand their strong and weak points. They don’t even understand what they are doing. What should they do? Therefore, sadness prevails in their lives. Everyone needs self-introspection to feel happy in their lives.

Q.4. What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent stillness?

The poet wants us to believe that when there is no life, our earth will assist us in giving new life. Earth will always remain alive to help humanity. So, we should respect the earth.

Keeping Quiet Comprehension:

Read the stanza given below and answer the questions that follow :

1. 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.

Questions:

1. Name the poem and the poet.
2. What does the poet appeal to us to do?
3. What does he not want us to do?
4. Which language does he ask us to speak?
5. Why is he asking us not to speak and move our arms?

Answers:

1. The title of the poem is Keeping Quiet and was written by Pablo Neruda.
2. The poet appeals to us to remain silent for a moment.
3. He asks us to keep still.
4. He asks us about any language.
5. He asks us to be silent to introspect ourselves.

2. 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.

Questions:

1. What would the exotic moment be?
2. Why does the poet call it an exotic moment?
3. Write the name of the poet and the poem.
4. What will happen to engines?
5. What would the fishermen do?

Answers:

1. When there will be complete silence.
2. Due to total calmness, the poet calls it an exotic moment.
3. The name of the poem is Keeping Quiet, and the name of the poet is Pablo Neruda.
4. There will be the sounds of engines.
5. The fishermen can see their wounded hands.

3. 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.

Questions:

1. What are the warmongers doing?
2. What will happen to their clothes?
3. What does war bring?
4. What do you mean by “victory with no survivors”?
5. What is total inactivity?

Answers:

1. War mongers are making weapons of destruction.
2. Their clothes will have blood stains from war.
3. The war brings deaths and chaos.
4. Victory for none, as war will kill everyone.
5. It means no action.

4. Stanza

Perhaps a huge silence
Might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.
(i) Name the poem and the poet.

(ii) What might the silence do?

(iii) Why does silence interrupt our sadness?

(iv) What is the threat of silence mentioned in the last line?

(v) Find from the stanza words which mean the same as: obstacle

1. The name of the poet is Pablo Neruda and the name of the poem is ‘Keeping Quiet’.
2. The silence will bring understanding to human beings.
3. Silence helps us understand ourselves, and understanding each other will reduce sadness.
4. We are going towards our death if we don’t understand each other.
5. Interrupt