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Keeping Quiet Assignment

The poet advocates for everyone to remain silent and still for one moment. He hopes this would create an exotic moment where fishermen would not harm whales, salt gatherers' hands would not be hurt, and those preparing for war would instead spend time with family. The poet believes that if people were not so focused on constant activity and instead experienced stillness, it could interrupt sadness over a lack of self-understanding and fear of death. The Earth can teach humanity lessons through periods that seem dead but later prove to be alive, like how stillness is not the same as inactivity or death.

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2K views

Keeping Quiet Assignment

The poet advocates for everyone to remain silent and still for one moment. He hopes this would create an exotic moment where fishermen would not harm whales, salt gatherers' hands would not be hurt, and those preparing for war would instead spend time with family. The poet believes that if people were not so focused on constant activity and instead experienced stillness, it could interrupt sadness over a lack of self-understanding and fear of death. The Earth can teach humanity lessons through periods that seem dead but later prove to be alive, like how stillness is not the same as inactivity or death.

Uploaded by

Anuj
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Keeping Quiet

By: Pablo Neruda


Date : Date of Submission :
S. No. RTCs Marks
1. 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.
(a)What does the poet appeal for?
(b) To attain this, what does he expect all of us to do?
(c) Why does he advocate silence?
(d)What kind of activity does the poet feel the man is involved with?
2. 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.
(a) What does he mean by ‘exotic moment’?
(b) How could man achieve this exotic moment?
(c) What kind of a feeling would this exotic moment evoke?
(d)What harm do the fishermen do and why do salt gatherer’s hands hurt?
3. 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.
(a)What are the kinds of wars mentioned in the above lines?
(b)What are green wars?
(c)How would the wars affect our lives?
(d)What could be the ideal situation?
4. What I want would 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 do nothing,
Perhaps a huge silence
Might interrupt this sadness
Of never understanding ourselves
And of threatening ourselves with death.
(a)What does the poet mean by inactivity?
(b)How is inactivity different from death?
(c)What makes us sad and what are we single-minded about?
(d)What does the poet mean by ‘to have no truck with death’?
5. 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
(a) What can the Earth teach us?
(b) How does it teach us this lesson?
(c)How does the Earth ‘prove to be alive’?
(d)What is the poet’s appeal?
6. Why does he advocate silence?
7. What can be the consequence of the war in our lives?
8. How is inactivity different from death? What does the poet mean by `to have no truck with
death’?
9. ‘Life is what it is all about.’ How is keeping quietly related to life?
10. According to the poet, what lesson can human beings learn from Nature?

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