He Had Such Quiet Eyes

by Bibsy Soenharjo

The poet

The poem
About the poet….

• Bibsy, reciting one of

her poems.
 Poet’s Trivia
• Born in Jakarta on 22 December 1928.
• Father : Haji Agus Salim
• Mother: Zainatun Nahar Nee Almatsier
• Stayed in Japan for 4 years.
• Began writing in 1957
• Her poems were translated into English,
Japanese and Dutch.
He Had Such Quiet Eyes
Bibsy Soenharjo
He had such quiet eyes
She did not realize
They were two pools of lies
Layered with thinnest ice
To her, those quiet eyes
Were breathing desolate sighs
Imploring her to be nice
And to render him paradise
If only she'd been wise
And had listened to the advice
Never to compromise
With pleasure-seeking guys
She'd be free from "the hows and whys"
Now here's a bit of advice
Be sure that nice really means nice
Then you'll never be losing at dice
Though you may lose your heart once or twice
1968
 Stanza 1
• She was hypnotized by the emptiness
look in his eyes, because of that she feels
obligated to be nice to him, exactly the
effect that he intended. In being nice to
him, obviously, she’ll do anything that he
asked, in order to make him happy.
This poem brings out the concept of the
power of the eyes and how, since ages
and ages ago (this poem is written in
1968) up till today, Casanovas all around
the world are still using the same old
trick and women, all over the world still
fall for it.
• “Two pools of lies layered with the
thinnest ice” means that the man
eyes is very deceiving, deep, calm
but dangerous, just like a pool in
winter. It may look inviting and
peaceful to see a still lake, but
when you try to walk on the thin
ice, it will break and you will drown
in the icy cold water.
• Another connection was the term “Eyes
are windows to the soul” thus here, the
icy eyes shows that the man have a cold,
ruthless heart, ready to gobble up
gullible woman. The eyes also quiet
(stealthy/underlying intention/udang
sebalik mee) and imploring
(domineering/controlling/powerful)
 Second Stanza
• Young woman are too gullible, naïve and easily
influenced especially concerning with love and
emotions.
• Thus, the advice was NEVER to compromise with
the wrong guys who have a powerful art of
seduction that will entangle the woman in its webs
for a long time. And the man with this knowledge
will not only suck the woman dry emotionally, but
also physically, financially and then toss her aside,
useless, broken and valueless…
 Last Stanza
• “Nice mean nice” means the man should have
no hidden intention. Only truthful and honest.
• “Then you'll never be losing at dice” means if
the woman is smart, she will not hurt herself
in this love game.
• “Though you may lose your heart once or
twice” means that having a broken heart is
something you might face in a relationship.
But it is better to have a broken heart than
loose a girl’s most precious belonging- her
dignity….
 Rhyme Scheme
• Let's look at the RHYMING SCHEME:
a,a,a,a... Yes, the rhyming scheme is
uniformed throughout the whole poem.
It is verbally beautiful. The uniformed
rhymes gives life to the poem. Just by
reading aloud, even without instruction,
the poem would still sound interesting.
 Literary Elements
• Okay, let's settle the LITERARY ELEMENTS. Let's
do it in a checklist form:
metaphor :

"two pools of lies" is the metaphor for the eyes

symbolism :

"thinnest ice". I personally view it as a

symbolism of a heartless man or a cold
blooded "hunter", who would harbor no
feelings at all towards his victims.
 simile : none

personification :

( Note: Personification is giving human quality to

inanimate object.)

a) quiet eyes: the eyes are given the quality 'quiet‘.

b) breathing desolate sighs: the eyes are portrayed
here as 'breathing'

assonance : none

alliteration : none