 Pablo Neruda was a famous poet – diplomat and politician, he is

widely regarded as one of the famous poet of 20th century as well

as the famous poet of Spanish language.
 He was born on 12 July, 1904; his real name was Ricardo Eliecer
Neftali Reyes Basoalto.
 Neruda got popularity during his lifetime; He wrote in a variety of
style including surrealist poems, historical epics etc.
 He wrote passionate love poems. Which includes Twenty Love
Poems, Songs of Despair(1924).
 He occupied many diplomatic positions and served a term as a
Senator for the Chilean Communist Party. Neruda was awarded
the Nobel Prize in 1971.
 Keeping Quiet is a poem about the need for soul-searching which
may help us make peace with ourselves and others.

 The poet appeals to the reader to take a little time out of their busy
schedules and emphasizes on the need of quiet introspection and
retrospection. It advocates doing nothing for sometime.

 It tells us how a moment of silent introspection will help us realize

the utter futility of our aggressive endeavors.
 Now we will count to twelve
and we will keep still

 The poet asks the readers to count

up to twelve in their mind and
urges everyone to be still.
 In this moment of silence, they
would stop their babbling tongues
and moving arms. Instead of
looking outside they will look inside
it will be a kind of introspection.
 It is like an exercise of meditation
gradually calming the mind to
prepare it for introspection.
 The number twelve could also be
related to the hours of the day or
the months of a year.

Poetic Device – Repetition - We Will

 for once on the face of the earth,
let’s not speak in any language;

 The poet discourages us from speaking in any language. People

across the world should not speak their own languages. They should
keep quiet and speak the language of silence.
 Language can be a dividing factor it leads to domination and
discrimination. If for sometime no one spoke then all discrimination
would disappear in the depths of silence. This will bring unity among
all human beings on the face of the earth .
let’s stop for a second,
and not move our arms so much.

 The poet urges us to stop for one second and not move our
arms to do any work. He asks us to keep ourselves away from
negative aspects.
 Arms also refer to arms and ammunitions that create violence
and disrupts peace and harmony.
 Unless right thoughts precede actions, differences and unrest will
continue to prevail and threaten to tear the fabric of society.
 Man is a victim of his own doing . Much of the unrest on the
face of the earth is a result of his progressive and forward
nature.
 It is a gesture of dictatorship and can be interpreted as his
action to dominate others.
 Poetic Device –Pun- Arms
 Arms-hands engaged in several activities
 Arms-weapons used for destruction.
 Let’s-Repetition
 To create a bond with the reader and stress his point.
 It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines

 When everything will come to a

standstill it will be a rare situation i.e
exotic moment.
 We are all busy accomplishing our
work and go on rushing in our lives.
 We should stop engines (industrial
activities causing harm to the
nature)and stop our personal activities
and unite in the one tune of silence.
 The mechanized modern life saps off
our mental and physical energy and
strips us of our tender human
emotions and feelings.
 Exotic moment- a unique and rare
moment of beauty, world peace,
universal brotherhood, compassion
and understanding.
 we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness

 In the moments of silence human being can experience the

strength of togetherness, and create a bond which binds all
humanity together.
 This new and
. inexplicable feeling will be a blessing for humanity.
 Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales

 No person would harm any other living being either for food or for
earning his livelihood.

 Fisherman represents tyrants and killers. The poet wants them to

stop their work and realize their mistakes.

 The powerful metaphor of fisherman is a comment on man’s

irrational exploitation of nature for his selfish interests.

 His actions have harmed wildlife and pushed endangered species

to the verge of extinction.
 and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands

 All the people who work endlessly will get sometime to look
at their injuries and the damage they have caused to their
body.

 The salt gatherers is a metaphor that represent the poor

worker class who often go to any extent to earn their
livelihood and often hurt themselves irreparably.

 Here the poet criticizes man’s obsession with material

advancement.

 It has brought misery and suffering as man does not pay

heed to the spiritual void created due to his greed for more.
Men gathering salt
 Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,

 Green wars are the brutal wars waged by man against

nature. They exploit nature for selfish reasons which leads to
environmental degradation.
 Man’s inability to appreciate his symbiotic relationship with
nature results in untold suffering and the day is not far when
his own actions will threaten him of extinction.
 Wars with gas and wars with weapons are the wars that
human beings have fought against each other in the past
and present. They make use of such devastating weapons
that have the capacity to wipe out humanity from the face
of earth.
 Those refers to all the people responsible for initiating and
aggravating wars. These wars spread mindless violence and
cause a colossal wastage of precious human lives,
property, sacred values, emotions and feelings.
 Chemical wars

Death and Destruction

 victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes

 The poet puts forth the paradox of wars, where everyone

experiences a loss, and victory becomes a result for the sake of
ending the wars. It warns us of a future possibility when man’s
inventions will go against him and destroy the human race.
 The deadly weapons are a proof of man’s intelligence and success
of technological advancement and scientific progress achieved
by him. But it is the defeat of humanity.
 The continuous warfare will convert this living planet into a
wasteland.
 Man would shed his blood soiled clothes and wear clean clothes.
He would cleanse his soul, heart and mind, of all anger and hatred.
 He would adopt a new approach towards life, understand the
destructive nature of wars and realize killing so many people is not
victory.
Poetic Devices
Put on clean clothes-metaphor
Adopt a new approach which is filled with peace and understanding.
 and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.

 We should walk with all fellow beings like brothers. This change in
perspective will bring about Love and respect for fellow human
beings. He wants us to leave the path of destruction and to be
united.
 In the shade (Metaphor) means peace and love toward nature
and without violence.
 Just like shade protects from harsh sun, we should protect and
shelter each other as brothers and live in peace and harmony.
 What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity

 The poet warns us that his message of silence should not be

confused with total inactivity or inertia.
 He does not want us to stop our work but to take sometime and
.
analyze the result our deeds. ‘Doing nothing’ and indulging in
silence will refuel and refresh ourselves for a more fulfilling life.
 Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.

 He further clarifies his message does not have any connection with
death. He just wants us to stop for a while and feel the tranquility of a
positive introspection and not to be confused with total inactivity or
death.
 He does not want death to interfere in our life before time. It should
come at the end of life lived full and well, without regrets.
 If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,

 All human beings work endlessly with the aim of completing all their
tasks. They are driven by the target of survival and threat of death. So
they are in mad rush to accomplish all their task.
 The poet comments on man’s erroneous notion of progress which is
mechanical movement forward.
 and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
. and of threatening ourselves with death

 He says pausing for a while will help appreciate their achievements and their
lives would become happier. By keeping quiet we will be able to understand
the true purpose of our life. Man is treading the path of destruction in the
name of progress.
 In his obsession with materialism , he sacrifices his emotional needs. He
wishes that he had allowed the silence of introspection to break the hold that
sadness has over his mind. But his failure to do so brings him closer to the
darkness of despair and death.
 Perhaps the earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive

 The poet suggest that man should learn from nature. The earth
undergoes change in seasons .In the winter everything freezes
and becomes lifeless but the season changes again and gives
birth to new life.
 It appears to be dead on the surface but is actually dormant
and carefully preserving the seeds of life, human beings too
need to keep still and quiet to rejuvenate and awaken the life
forces within and be productive.
 Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

 The poet has conveyed the purpose of his message. He asks

the people once again to take a pause, count till twelve and
walks out. He leaves us thoughtful and pensive .
 He wants us to ponder upon the thoughts planted by him.he has
the confidence that having realized the benefits of introspection,
the readers will imbibe it as a part of their lives.
Thank you