Keeping Quiet
By Poet’s pen name ‘Pablo Neruda’
Actual Name: Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto
Born in town of Parral, Chile
Noble Prize for Literature, 1971
Rhyme Scheme: No rhyme scheme, it’s written in free verse
The Poem
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.
# “face of the Earth” means
Various countries on the surface of
the earth
It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.
Explanation
q The poet asks everyone to count up to twelve in their mind and to stop for
a while. The number twelve may represent 12 hours in a clock or the 12
months in a year
q He wants everyone to stop and calm down.
q The poet urges everyone not to speak any language.
q As we different languages are spoken in different parts of the
world, it often creates a barrier in our way for peace.
q The people of the world have been indulging in wars and bloodsheds on
minor excuses. If they keep quiet, they may not indulge in reasoning,
disputes, debates and quarrels.
q So, he asks people to be quiet and speak the language of silence
and through their hearts to ensure peace and prosperity.
q So he urges people across the nations to unite through the language of
silence.
q He also urges us to stop and cease all activities for a second/ while.
q He also requests to stop moving our arms
q This implies that no signal, no fight and no argument.
q By using “arms” he also signifies “weapons”, which are used to rage war
against each other.
q Thus, poet is demanding absolute peace and advising us to stop war to put
an end to bloodshed and cause harm to each other.
q Let these arms rest for once. Let a feeling of mutual understanding , be
created among human beings.
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
q Poet says that it would be a rare/unusual/exceptional situation when
there will be no rush and no engines working. It will be a very
enticing/fascinating/alluring/appealing and beautiful moment.
q People will not be in a rush to achieve material things one after another
q Non-stop activity, unnecessary rush and noise have made our lives
unpleasant and full of misery, pain and troubles.
q We must stop rushing, hurrying, worrying and running.
q 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 and

Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands
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.
. q He also requests people not to involve in wars with poisonous
there will be peace all around.
q Under such a standstill circumstance of calmness and quietness, people
will be united with each other in a strange atmosphere and enjoy the
symphony of silence.
q They will feel totally relaxed, physically as well as mentally.
Literary devices:
Alliteration- ‘we would’ – ‘w’ sound is repeated,
‘sudden strangeness’ – ‘s’ sound is repeated,
q Pablo Neruda is against any kind of violence.
q The poet addresses the fisherman and urges them to stop harming/
hunting whales in the cold sea of the polar regions.
q This means that the poet is urging everyone not to harm the animals and
be environment friendly.
q Here he gives the example of whales which are being hunted for the
purpose of food or trade.
q So he urges mankind not to harm any other living beings either for food
or for livelihood.
q The man gathering salt has injured his hands. The harsh and coarse
grains of salt causes damage and pain to their hand.
q He also wants people to calm down so that they can stop and see what
they have achieved or lost.
q For this he gives the example of the man who gathers salt and works
endlessly will get some time to look at his hands that are hurt. Thus he is
against self-torturing
q 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.
q It’s time for mankind to heal and take care of themselves.
Literary devices:
Alliteration- ‘his hurt hands’ – ‘h’ sound is repeated
q The poet asks everyone to stop Green War against environment,
activities which are damaging the environment such as mining,
deforestation, letting the chemical waste into rivers, fishing in deep
seas, just for the sake of money and material gains.
q Thus poet is asking people to stop exploiting the green wealth of
mother nature.
gases and fire, as there is no benefit of achieving such victory in which
no one is left alive.
q He says so because wars and environmental damage will lead to
utter destruction with no life on earth.
q He says that human being need some time to introspect/analyse
into the consequences of their actions.
q Rather, he wants people to adopt a new approach (put on new
cloths) towards life and walk under the shady trees ( here he also
means afforestation to rejuvenate life) and doing nothing.
q Mankind must develop a realization that killing a fellow human
being, cannot bring victory.
q He says that we should treat our enemy like brothers and promote
peace and harmony around the world through unity.
q Poet is promoting universal brotherhood, tolerance, unity and peace.
Literary devices:

What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death
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.
Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
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’
q He does not want us to stop our works but to take some time and analyse
and introspect the results of our deeds.
q The poet is advocating for silence or stillness. Stillness should not be
confused with total inactivity
q Poet believes in flow of life and dynamism.
q Hence he is not advocating inactivity, which is equivalent to death.
q Truck of death: lifelessness ie Complete inactivity. Poet means that
silence is for a brief moment for self-analysis and introspection,
q Thus, 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 an inactive person.
q Here, he simply means that we should stop and see the
consequences of our deeds.
q Here stillness means halting of harmful and hostile human activities, to
bring a positive and constructive change.
q The poet doesn’t want to see people being killed due to their greed
for money and expansion of territories.
q He says that people are continuously working to achieve their tasks
without even thinking about their results.
q Human beings are driven by the target of survival and threat of
death and hence there’s a mad rush of accomplishment.
q Hence, they are living a life in which they want to achieve most of
the things one after the other and are busy in this pursuit (hunt),
before their death.
q The sadness of not enjoying what we have achieved and the greed
to achieve what next is in the list to be achieved, is concerning.
q Hence, poet urges mankind not to be so much absorbed in this
never-ending movement but to stop and take a pause for a while and
see what has been achieved to appreciate their achievement.
q They must take some moment to rest, respite and relish to enjoy
on what they have achieved till now. This will make their life happier.
q Only a huge silence’ can interrupt this sadness. Such silence will do them
good.
q This will help us skip the sadness which has become so prominent
in our lives. Keeping quiet will help us understand the true purpose of
life and attain inner peace.
Literary devices
Alliteration: we were, so single – minded
q Now the poet suggests to the human beings that we should learn a
lesson from Earth as how to live on it / Earth.
q During the winters everything freezes and becomes lifeless.
q But when season changes, with the onset of spring season,
everything present in the nature such as the trees, birds, rivers, etc
come back to life.
q The earth is never dead. The life on the earth goes on as usual under the
apparent stillness.

Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go
q 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.
q 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.
q They can try and make their life better with calmness, peace.
q Finally, he ends up by saying that now he will count upto twelve so
that we all may become quiet.
q Here ‘quiet’ means to calm down ourselves and move towards the
path of peace and harmony.
q After saying this he says ‘I will go’.
q 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

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (Word Limit: 30-40 words)

Q1. Why does Pablo Neruda urge us to keep still?
Ans:
 Stillness is essential for calm reflection and quiet introspection.
 We hear the voice of conscience in moments of silence.
 The poet is convinced that most of human ills and miseries are caused by man’s hurry and rush decisions and
actions.
 The poet wishes that we may withdraw ourselves from our undesirable actions and keep still for a moment.

Q2. Why shouldn’t we “speak in any language” and “not move our arms so much”?
Ans:
q He wants everyone to stop and calm down.
q The poet urges everyone not to speak any language.
q As we different languages are spoken in different parts of the world, it often creates a barrier in our way
for peace.
q The people of the world have been indulging in wars and bloodsheds on minor excuses. If they keep quiet, they
may not indulge in reasoning, disputes, debates and quarrels.
q So, he asks people to be quiet and speak the language of silence and through their hearts to ensure
peace and prosperity.
q So he urges people across the nations to unite through the language of silence.
q He also urges us to stop and cease all activities for a second/ while.
q He also requests to stop moving our arms
q This implies that no signal, no fight and no argument.
q By using “arms” he also signifies “weapons”, which are used to rage war against each other.
q Thus, poet is demanding absolute peace and advising us to stop war to put an end to bloodshed and cause harm to
each other.
q Let these arms rest for once. Let a feeling of mutual understanding , be created among human beings.

Q3. Pablo Neruda says:“we would all be together in a sudden strangeness.”

When can we experience such a moment? Why will that be an exotic moment?
Ans:
q Poet says that it would be a rare/unusual/exceptional situation when there will be no rush and no engines
working. It will be a very enticing/fascinating/alluring/appealing and beautiful moment.
q People will not be in a rush to achieve material things one after another
q Non-stop activity, unnecessary rush and noise have made our lives unpleasant and full of misery, pain and
troubles.
q We must stop rushing, hurrying, worrying and running.
q 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 and there will be peace all around.
q Under such a standstill circumstance of calmness and quietness, people will be united with each other in a strange
atmosphere and enjoy the symphony of silence.
q They will feel totally relaxed, physically as well as mentally.

Q4. What does the poet ask the fisherman and the man collecting salt to dot What docs In-exactly want to
convey by this?
Ans:
q Pablo Neruda is against any kind of violence.
q The poet addresses the fisherman and urges them to stop harming/ hunting whales in the cold sea of the polar
regions.
q This means that the poet is urging everyone not to harm the animals and be environment friendly.
q Here he gives the example of whales which are being hunted for the purpose of food or trade.
q So he urges mankind not to harm any other living beings either for food or for livelihood.

q The man gathering salt has injured his hands. The harsh and coarse grains of salt causes damage and pain to their
hand.
q He also wants people to calm down so that they can stop and see what they have achieved or lost.
q For this he gives the example of the man who gathers salt and works endlessly will get some time to look at his
hands that are hurt. Thus he is against self-torturing
q 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.
q It’s time for mankind to heal and take care of themselves.

Q5. What alternative does Pablo Neruda suggest instead of indulging in wars?
Ans: q He says so because wars and environmental damage will lead to utter destruction with no life on
earth.
q He says that human being need some time to introspect/analyse into the consequences of their actions.
q Rather, he wants people to adopt a new approach (put on new cloths) towards life and walk under the
shady trees ( here he also means afforestation to rejuvenate life) and doing nothing.
q Mankind must develop a realization that killing a fellow human being, cannot bring victory.
q He says that we should treat our enemy like brothers and promote peace and harmony around the
world through unity.
q Poet is promoting universal brotherhood, tolerance, unity and peace.

Q6. How does the poet distinguish ‘stillness’ from ‘total inactivity’? Why does Neruda saw I want no truck with
death?
Ans: q He does not want us to stop our works but to take some time and analyse and introspect the results of our
deeds.
q The poet is advocating for silence or stillness. Stillness should not be confused with total inactivity
q Poet believes in flow of life and dynamism.
q Hence he is not advocating inactivity, which is equivalent to death.
q Truck of death: lifelessness ie Complete inactivity. Poet means that silence is for a brief moment for self-analysis
and introspection,
q Thus, 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 an inactive person.
q Here, he simply means that we should stop and see the consequences of our deeds.
q Here stillness means halting of harmful and hostile human activities, to bring a positive and constructive change.
q The poet doesn’t want to see people being killed due to their greed for money and expansion of
territories.

Q7. Why does the poet fee! that we should not be so single-minded’?
Ans: q He says that people are continuously working to achieve their tasks without even thinking about
their results.
q Human beings are driven by the target of survival and threat of death and hence there’s a mad rush of
accomplishment.
q Hence, they are living a life in which they want to achieve most of the things one after the other and are
busy in this pursuit (hunt), before their death.
q The sadness of not enjoying what we have achieved and the greed to achieve what next is in the list to
be achieved, is concerning.
q Hence, poet urges mankind not to be so much absorbed in this never-ending movement but to stop and
take a pause for a while and see what has been achieved to appreciate their achievement.
q They must take some moment to rest, respite and relish to enjoy on what they have achieved till now.
This will make their life happier.
q Only a huge silence’ can interrupt this sadness. Such silence will do them good.
q This will help us skip the sadness which has become so prominent in our lives. Keeping quiet will help us
understand the true purpose of life and attain inner peace.

Q8.Why do men become sad? How can this sadness be overcome?

(OR) How might a huge silence interrupt the sadness of men?
Ans:
 Men fail to understand themselves, as they are driven by targets of survival and threat of death and hence
there’s a mad rush of accomplishment.
 Hence, they are living a life in which they want to achieve most of the things one after the other and
are busy in this pursuit (hunt), before their death.
 The sadness of not enjoying what we have achieved and the greed to achieve what next is in the list
to be achieved, is concerning.
 When they realise their failure to understand themselves they become sad or helpless.
 Fear of death also makes them sad.
 Hence, poet urges mankind not to be so much absorbed in this never-ending movement but to
stop and take a pause for a while and see what has been achieved to appreciate their achievement.
 Only a huge silence’ can interrupt this sadness. Such silence will do them good.
 Keeping quiet will help us understand the true purpose of life and attain inner peace

Q9. Under the apparent stillness there is life. Justify this statement giving an example from the poem ‘Keeping
Quiet’.
Ans:
q The poet suggests to the human beings that we should learn a lesson from Earth as how to live on it /
Earth.
q During the winters everything freezes and becomes lifeless.
q But when season changes, with the onset of spring season, everything present in the nature such as the
trees, birds, rivers, etc come back to life.
q The earth is never dead. The life on the earth goes on as usual under the apparent stillness.
q 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.
q 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.
q They can try and make their life better with calmness, peace.

Q10. Justify the title ‘Keeping Quiet’.

Ans:
 The title of the poem is quite appropriate and logical. It suggests the necessity of quiet introspection.
 The people of the world are overactive and always on the move.
 Their activities have caused untold troubles and sufferings.
 Keeping quiet will do them a lot of good.
 It will save them from many harmful and violent activities.
Moreover, it will help in reflecting over the fate of man and help in creating a feeling of mutual understanding among
human beings.

Q10. Which is the exotic moment that the poet refers to in ‘Keeping Quiet’
Ans: see from above

IMPORTANT STANZAS FOR COMPREHENSION

Read the stanzas given below and answer the questions that follow each:
1.Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still.
Questions
(a)Name the poem and the poet of these lines.
(b)Why does the poet ask us to count to twelve?
(c)Why does the poet ask us to keep still?
(d) Find words from the passage which mean.
(ii) say number (iii) quiet and motionless.

Answers:
(a)The name of the poem is Keeping Quiet. The name of the poet is Pablo Neruda.

(b)There are only twelve signs on the clock to measure hours and similarly 12 months constitute a year. The poet asks
everyone to count up to twelve in their mind and to stop for a while.

(c)
q He wants everyone to stop and calm down.
q The poet urges everyone not to speak any language.
q As we different languages are spoken in different parts of the world, it sometimes creates a barrier in our way for
peace.
q So, he asks people to be quiet and speak the language of silence.
q So he urges people across the nations to unite through the language of silence.
q Also too much activity and rush has only brought misfortunes to mankind.
q Hence, it is better to be quiet and still, for a moment and l introspect our deeds to self-analyse and realize.

(d) (i) count (ii) still

2. 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
(a)‘Let’s not speak in any language’, says the poet. Why?
(b)What should we not do for a second?
(c) What do you understand by ‘the face of the Earth ?

Answers:
(a) q The poet urges everyone not to speak any language.
q As we different languages are spoken in different parts of the world, it often creates a barrier in our way
for peace.
q The people of the world have been indulging in wars and bloodsheds on minor excuses. If they keep quiet, they
may not indulge in reasoning, disputes and quarrels.
q So, he asks people to be quiet and speak the language of silence to ensure peace and prosperity.
q So he urges people across the nations to unite through the language of silence.

(b) q He also urges us to stop and cease all activities for a second/ while.
q He also requests to stop moving our arms
q This implies that no signal, no fight and no argument.
q By using “arms” he also signifies “weapons”, which are used to rage war against each other.
q Thus, poet is demanding absolute peace and advising us to stop war to put an end to bloodshed and cause harm to
each other.

(c) The expression “the face of the Earth’ refers to the various countries on the surface of the earth

3.It would be an exotic moment without rush, without engines, we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.
Questions
(a)Why it’s an exotic moment?
(b)What will happen if there is no rush or running of engines?
(c)How would all of us feel at that moment?
Answers:
(a) Poet says that it would be a rare/unusual/exceptional situation when there will be no rush and no engines
working. It will be a very enticing/fascinating/alluring/appealing and beautiful moment.

(b) q People will not be in a rush to achieve material things one after another
q Non-stop activity, unnecessary rush and noise have made our lives unpleasant and full of misery, pain and
troubles.
q We must stop rushing, hurrying, worrying and running.
q 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 and there will be peace all around.
q Under such a standstill circumstance of calmness and quietness, people will be united with each other in a strange
atmosphere and enjoy the symphony of silence.
q They will feel totally relaxed, physically as well as mentally.

(c) It’s strange, as such a situation has never happened earlier. All of us will enjoy the unusualness and sudden
strangeness of that moment.

4. Fishermen in the cold sea would not harm whales and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.
Questions
(a)What do fishermen usually do in the cold sea?
(b)What does the poet ask fishermen not to do?
(c)What has happened to the man gathering salt?
(d) What should the man gathering salt do?
Answers:
(a)Fishermen usually catch/ hunt fish, particularly whales, in the cold seas of polar regions.
(b)
q Pablo Neruda is against any kind of violence.
q Further the poet addresses the fisherman and urges them to stop harming/ hunting whales in the cold sea of the
polar regions.
q This means that the poet is urging everyone not to harm the animals and be environment friendly.
q Here he gives the example of whales which are being hunted for the purpose of food or trade.
q So he urges mankind not to harm any other living beings either for food or for livelihood.

(c) The man gathering salt has injured his hands. The harsh and coarse grains of salt causes damage and pain to their
hand.

(d)
q He also wants people to calm down so that they can stop and see what they have achieved or lost.
q For this he gives the example of the man who gathers salt and works endlessly will get some time to look at his
hands that are hurt. Thus he is against self-torturing
q 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. It’s time for mankind to heal and take care of themselves.

5. 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.
Questions
(a)Name the poem and the poet of these lines.
(b)What sort of wars are mentioned in the above lines?
(c)What kind of victory will it be?
(d) How should the lovers of war behave?
Answers:
(а)The name of the poem is Keeping Quiet. The poet is Pablo Neruda.
(b)
q The poet asks everyone to stop those activities which are damaging the environment with their activities
such as mining, deforestation, letting the chemical waste into rivers, fishing in deep seas, just for the sake
of money and material gains etc. These are referred as “green wars”
q Thus poet is asking people to stop exploiting the green wealth of mother nature.
q He also requests people not to involve in wars with poisonous gases and fire.

(c) It will be a victory where no survivors will be left to celebrate it. Such a victory will be meaningless. He says so
because wars and environmental damage will lead to utter destruction with no life on earth

(d)
q They should put on clean clothes and walk with their brothers under the trees leisurely doing nothing.
q Rather, he wants people to adopt a new approach (put on new cloths) towards life and mankind and
develop a realization that killing a fellow human being, cannot bring victory
q He urges that human being need some time to introspect/analyse into the consequences of their
actions.
q He says that we should treat our enemy like brothers and promote peace and harmony around the
world through unity.
q Poet is promoting universal brotherhood, tolerance, unity and peace

6.What I want should not be confused

with total inactivity. i Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness of never understanding ourselves and of threatening ourselves with
death.
Questions
(a)What does the poet want? What should it not be confused with?
(b)Explain: I want no truck with death’.
(c)What do people pursue single-mindedly? Which is the better course the poet suggests?
(d)When can a huge silence do us good?
Answers:
(а)
q He does not want us to stop our works but to take some time and analyse the results of our deeds.
q The poet is advocating for silence or stillness. Stillness should not be confused with total inactivity
(b)
q Poet believes in flow of life and dynamism.
q Hence he is not advocating inactivity, which is equivalent to death.
q Truck of death: lifelessness ie Complete inactivity. Poet means that silence is for a brief moment for self-analysis
and introspection,
q Thus, 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 an inactive person.
q Inactive is a person who remains idle and doesn’t do anything.
q Here, he simply means that we should stop and see the consequences of our deeds.
q The poet doesn’t want to see people being killed due to their greed for money and expansion of
territories

(c)
q He says that people are continuously working to achieve their tasks without even thinking about their
results.
q Human beings are driven by the target of survival and threat of death and hence there’s a mad rush of
accomplishment.
q Hence, they are living a life in which they want to achieve most of the things one after the other before
their death.
q The sadness of not enjoying what we have achieved and the greed to achieve what next is in the list to
be achieved, is concerning.
q Hence, poet urges them to stop and take a pause for a while and see what has been achieved to
appreciate their achievement.
q They must take some moment to relish and enjoy on what they have achieved till now. This will make
their life happier.

(d)
q A huge silence can do us a lot of good when we are disappointed at not understanding ourselves or threatening
ourselves with death.
q Hence, poet urges them to stop and take a pause for a while and see what has been achieved to
appreciate their achievement.
q They must take some moment to relish and enjoy on what they have achieved till now. This will make
their life happier.
q This will help us skip the sadness which has become so prominent in our lives. Keeping quiet will help us
understand the true purpose of life.

7. 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.
Questions
(a)What can the Earth teach us?
(b)What remains alive when everything seems dead?
(c)Who is the poet? What does he want to do?
(d)What does the poet ask us to do?
Answers:
‘(a) q The poet suggests that we should learn a lesson from Earth as how to live on it / Earth.
.
(b)
q Only the earth remains alive when everything seems dead.
q During the winters everything freezes and becomes lifeless.
q But when season changes, with the onset of spring season, everything present in the nature such as the
trees, birds, rivers, etc come back to life.

(c) The poet is Pablo Neruda. He wants to count upto twelve.

(d)
q He asks us to keep quiet while he is counting upto twelve.
q Here ‘quiet’ means to calm down ourselves and move towards the path of peace and harmony.

QUESTIONS FROM TEXTBOOK SOLVED

Q1. What will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us achieve?
Ans:
 Counting up to twelve takes very short time.
 Keeping still for this brief interval of time gives us a momentary pause to introspect and review the course of
action.
 It is generally observed that most of the ills and troubles of the world are caused by our rush or hasty
decisions.
 Violence is caused by anger.
 Keeping quiet and still will give us necessary respite and ensure peace.

Q2. Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death?
Ans:
 No, he doesn’t advocate either total inactivity or death.
 He makes it quite clear that ‘stillness’ should not be confused with “total inactivity or equated to it.
 Total inactivity brings death. But Neruda wants ‘no truck with death’.
 Here stillness means halting of harmful and hostile human activities.
 Poet means that silence is for a brief moment for self-analysis and introspection,
 Here, he simply means that we should stop and see the consequences of our deeds
Q3. What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem? [All India 2014]
Ans:
 Man’s sadness is formed out of his own actions and thoughts.
 It is quite ironical that man who understands so much fails to understand himself and his action.
 Rash actions prove harmful and disastrous.
 Man is the creator of all disasters.
 He is always threatening himself with death because of his thoughts and actions.
 This is the tragedy of his life.

Q4. What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent stillness?
Ans:
 The poet wants to prove that there can be life under apparent stillness.
 The poet invokes the earth as a living symbol to prove his point.
 The earth never attains total inactivity. Nature remains at work all the time even under apparent stillness. It
keeps earth alive.
 This idea is beautifully illustrated by the poet
 During the winters everything freezes and becomes lifeless.
 But when season changes, with the onset of spring season, everything present in the nature
such as the trees, birds, rivers, etc come back to 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.
 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.