keeping quiet Flashcards
What will counting upto twelve and keeping still help us achieve?
This exercise of counting upto twelve will help us to sit still, away from the humdrum of life, meditate, reflect and introspect in silence. It will help us achieve a sense of togetherness away from the mundane activities of life. It will also help us save the world from disasters and wars.
Do you think the poet, Pablo Neruda advocates total inactivity and death? Why/Why not?
No, the poet Pablo Neruda does not advocate total inactivity or death. He wants inhuman and destructive activities, specially those which are involved in war, to be stopped. He wants the human race to live in peace and harmony, preserve nature and the environment.
What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
The sadness that the poet refers to is our inability to just slow down and look on the inside instead of just ignoring our needs. The poet wants us to realise that just surviving is a sad way of living.
What symbol from nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under
apparent stillness?
The earth has been personified as a teacher. Like a teacher, the earth teaches us the best lesson in silence. It sends us a strong message that when everything on earth seems silent and quiet, it nurtures so much life underneath. Life moves on, like an ongoing process, and the cycle of birth and death, decay and renewal continues.
According to the poet, what is that human beings can learn from nature?
Life under apparent stillness in atitude is important Just like nature carries on with its
work even when there is stillness all around, similarly, stillness in one’s attitude will help in introspection and reconnection with oneself.
’ Why does one feel ‘a sudden strangeness’ on counting upto twelve and keeping quiet?
The absence of hustle and bustle of life would create a feeling of peace and quietness, which would make us united in our natural commitment. It will create a strange feeling of universal brotherhood.
How is the earth a source of life when all seems dead on it?
Earth is a source of life when all seems dead because it keeps on working and supporting life even when everything seems dead silent. She does not hurry yet everything gets done.
According to Pablo Neruda, what do we not do when we keep quiet?
When we keep quiet, we will not be in any rush, the people will not harm any other living organisms and will not harm the environment. When we keep quiet, we will not do anything but introspect and understand.
What does Neruda mean by ‘an exotic moment without rusk’ in his poem ‘Keeping
Quiet’?
The poet, Pablo Neruda, aspires for the exotic moment when the people on the surface of this earth are free from any sort of material gain, cruelty and harmful actions. He wants us to introspect and ensure universal brotherhood.
- ‘There can be life under apparent stillness’. Explain.
There is life under apparent stillness means a state in which everything seems almost still and inactive, but there’s still some activity in the underground to show that it’s alive. The poet cites an example of Earth to explain this. At night and even during winter, everything on Earth seems still as ifit’s dead though in reality everything is alive.
What, according to Pablo Neruda, in the poem ‘Keeping Quiet’ is the lesson that we should learn from mother earth?
In the poem ‘Keeping Quiet’, Pablo Neruda suggests that the lesson we should learn from mother earth is the importance of stillness and contemplation. Taking a moment to stop all activities, remaining silent, and listening to ones own breath and the world around them. We get connected to ourselves, each other, and the natural world, and understand that life goes on even when one is still.
