NCERT Solutions For Class 12 Flamingo English Keeping Quiet

 Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda (Notes Prepared by Shish Pal Chauhan)

Discussion on Qs & Ans. and Stanzas  Short Answer-type Questions

Q1. What is introspection? What is its importance?

Ans.It is the mental activity by which we carefully examine our thoughts, feelings, and our behaviour towards others. By doing so we are able to correct our mistakes and amend our behaviour towards others. We become better human beings by doing introspection daily.

Q2. What will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us to achieve?

Ans. The counting up to twelve will help us to achieve the state of concentration. It is just a way to begin with. We need to remain focussed and still to begin the process of introspection. It will refresh our mind and body. We will feel relaxed and even more energetic than before.

Q3. What idea does Pablo Neruda want to convey to us in his poem, ‘Keeping Quiet’?

Ans. The poet wants to tell us that introspection helps us in studying our thoughts and behaviour. We come to know about our faults and weak points in quietness only. So he advises us to remain quiet for a few seconds to begin life anew and fresh.

Q4. What is a moment exotic (strange) for the poet and why?

Ans. The poet calls the moments of quietness as exotic because such moments of introspection give us a strange feeling. We feel relaxed and energetic than before. We rise above our faults and weak points of our behavior.

Q5. What does the poet say about fishermen?

Ans. The moments of silence (quietness) will also change the behavior of the fishermen. For some time, they would postpone the killing of whales. They will win over their greed and kill as many fish as they need.

Q6. How, according to the poet, the Earth teaches us?

Ans. The earth teaches us a great lesson of starting our life and new activities with new power and strength. In winter season, the earth remains inactive. It seems to be dead. But that is not true. Its activities are suspended for a few months. In spring season, all the activities of the earth start and new beauties are added to it. So we can also add new beauties to our life by doing introspection.

Q7. What should not be confused with the total inactivity and why?

Ans. The poet says that we should sit still for some time and stop all activities. It does not mean inactivity. When we sit quiet for a few seconds, we should analyse our behavior. It is introspection. Mental activity continues in introspection. So it should not be confused with total inactivity, that is, death.

Q8. What does the poet say about those ‘who prepare green wars’?

Ans. There are many people in this world who are evil minded. It is because they never give time to listen to the inner voice that is conscience. So they pass their life in doing violent activities. They enjoy in wars. The poet says that if they start giving time to introspection, they can change their evil thoughts.

Q9. How would keeping quiet not harm whales?

Ans. It would not harm them in two ways. First, they would suspend catching of whales for some time and second, they might decide to catch less whales after introspection as it would make them to have control over their greed.

Q10. Why would the man gathering salt look at his hands?

Ans. after introspection, the man gathering feel satisfied at the quantum of sand he has gathered till then. The effect of greed would leave his mind. So he would look at his hands hurt due to the chemical effect of the salt gathered by him.

Q11. What does the poet mean by saying “would put on clean clothes”?

Ans. After keeping quiet and going through the process of introspection, the people who produce fatal weapons for war and force war upon others would feel repentance on their cruelties. Their mind would be guiltless and conscience clean like white clothes having no stain of blood on them. So clean clothes symbolise soul without any guilt of shedding human blood.

Q12. How does the earth become alive after sometime?

Ans. Spring season follows winter season. Life begins to sprout in trees and plants. New leaves come and we notice growth in vegetation on the surface of the earth.

Q13. How do you know the earth seems dead? What is the proof of it?

Ans. The earth seems dead because almost all the vegetation on the earth becomes inactive. Leaves of the plants and trees become yellow and fall down.

Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda Extracts for Comprehension

Extract 1

Now we will count to twelve/and we will all keep still./

Q1. Name the poet and the poem.

Ans. The poet is Pablo Neruda and the poem is Keeping Quiet.

Q2. Why does the poet ask the reader to count up to twelve only?

Ans. He must be having the twelve signs written on the clock. It is just the way to begin with to reach the state of introspection.

Q3. What is the need to keep still?

Ans. Without sitting still, it is difficult to achieve concentration in mind.

Q4. Which words in the above lines mean ‘chant or say numbers’ and to sit without moving’?

Ans. ‘count’ and ‘still’.

Extract 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./

Q1. Name the poem and its poet.

Ans. The poem is Keeping Quiet and its poet is Pablo Neruda.

Q2. Why does the poet say ‘let’s not speak in any language,”?    

Ans. Without remaining quiet, we cannot achieve concentration to reach the state of introspection. So the poet say it.

Q3. What does the poet mean by ‘let’s stop for one second,’?

Ans. The poet means to say that we should stop all activities.

Q4. What should we not do for a second?

Ans. The poet wants us to stop all activities for a second.

Extract 3.

It would be an exotic moment/without rush, without engines,/we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.

Q1. Which activity would be an exotic experience according to the poet here?

Ans. When the people in the whole world are quiet and sit at the same time for introspection, it would be an exotic experience.

Q2.Who is the poet and what is the name of the poem?

Ans. Pablo Neruda is the poet and ‘keeping Quiet’ is the poem.

Q3. Write the synonym of ‘exotic’.

Ans. Unusual

Q4. What does the word ‘engines’ mean here?

Ans. All the machines

Q5. What does ‘without rush’ mean?

Ans. It means without hurry and any activity on the earth.

Q6. Which type of ‘a sudden strangeness’ would it be?

Ans. It would be total silence on the earth. It would be strange that all human activities would stop for some time on the earth.

Extract 4.

Fishermen in the cold sea/would not harm whales/and the man gathering salt/
would look at his hurt hands.

Q1. Name the poem and its poet.

Ans. ‘Keeping Quiet’ is the name of the poem and its poet is Pablo Neruda.

Q2.What do the fishermen do in cold sea?

Ans. They catch fish, particularly, in cold sea.

Q3. How would keeping quiet not harm whales?

Ans. It would not harm them in two ways. First, they would suspend catching of whales for some time and second, they might decide to catch fewer whales after introspection.

Q4. Why would the man gathering salt look at his hands?

Ans. after introspection, the man gathering feel satisfied at the quantity of sand he has gathered till then. The effect of greed would leave his mind. So he would look at his hands hurt due to the chemical effect of the salt gathered by him.

Q5. What is the poet’s indirect advice to the fishermen?

Ans. The poet’s indirect advice to the fishermen is not to catch whales from the sea more than they actually need. They should not be greedy to catch whales.

Q6. What should the man gathering salt do?

Ans. He should not risk his hands to the greed of gathering salt.

Extract 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.

Q1.Who are the people responsible for wars?

Ans. These are power-hungry people.

Q2. What kinds of wars have been mentioned here?

Ans. Different kinds of wars like green wars,
wars with gas and wars with fire have been mentioned here.

Q3. What kind of victory has been mentioned in the above lines?

Ans. The victory that will be gained after the death of all has been mentioned here.

Q4. What do the ‘clean clothes’ symbolise?

Ans.. Clean clothes symbolise their conscience without any guilt of causing bloodshed.

Q5. When would the perpetrators of wars walk about with their brothers?

Ans. They would do so after their conscience is cleaned of their guilt of shedding blood of human beings. The feeling of enmity would leave their mind.

Q6. Who are ‘brothers’ in the poem?

Ans. The people who have been affected by their weapons are brothers here. They may be all human beings.

Extract 6.

What I want should not be/confused/with total inactivity/Life is what it is about;/
I want no truck with death.

Q1. What does the poet want?

Ans. The poet wants the usage of the word ‘inactivity’ should not be confused. One should not equate it with death.

Q2. What does the poet want to convey to us through the above lines?

Ans. The poet wants to say that total inactivity does not mean that one should not do anything. In introspection, we analyze the thought process and reach some reasonable conclusion to live a better life.

Q3. Write the synonym of ‘truck’.

Ans. relation, link, connection

Extract 8.  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.

Q1. Name the poem and its poet.

Ans. The title of the poem is Keeping Quiet and the poet is Pablo Neruda.

Q2. When does the earth seem dead?

Ans. in winter season, the earth seems dead.

Q3. How do you know the earth seems dead? What is the proof of it?

Ans. The earth seems dead because almost all the vegetation on the earth becomes inactive. Leaves of the plants and trees become yellow and fall down.

Q4. How does the earth become alive after sometime?

Ans. Spring season follows winter season. Life begins to sprout in trees and plants. New leaves come and we notice growth in vegetation on the surface of the earth.

Q5. What does the poet want us to do?

Ans. The poet wants us to keep quiet.