Chapter- 11             Keeping Quiet


Question: What is the title of the poem?
Answer: The title of the poem is “Keeping Quiet”.

Question: Who is the poet of “Keeping Quiet”?
Answer: The poet of the poem is Pablo Neruda.

Question: What was Pablo Neruda’s real name?
Answer: His real name was Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto.

Question: When was Pablo Neruda born?
Answer: Pablo Neruda was born in 1904.

Question: When did Pablo Neruda die?
Answer: Pablo Neruda died in 1973.

Question: Where was Pablo Neruda born?
Answer: He was born in the town of Parral in Chile.

Question: What kind of images are common in Neruda’s poems?
Answer: His poems are full of simple and easily understood images.

Question: In which year did Pablo Neruda win the Nobel Prize for Literature?
Answer: He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.

Question: What is the central idea of the poem “Keeping Quiet”?
Answer: The poem stresses quiet introspection and mutual understanding among humans.

Question: What does the title “Keeping Quiet” suggest?
Answer: It suggests silence, stillness, and self-reflection.

Question: What does the poet ask us to do at the beginning of the poem?
Answer: He asks us to count to twelve and keep still.

Question: Why does the poet say “for once on the face of the Earth”?
Answer: He wants everyone to experience silence at least once.

Question: What does the poet want us to stop doing for a moment?
Answer: He wants us to stop speaking and moving.

Question: Why does the poet say “let’s not speak in any language”?
Answer: To avoid misunderstandings and conflicts.

Question: What kind of moment would silence create?
Answer: It would create an exotic and peaceful moment.

Question: Why does the poet call it an “exotic moment”?
Answer: Because such complete silence is rare and unusual.

Question: What does the phrase “without rush, without engines” suggest?
Answer: It suggests a peaceful world free from haste and machinery.

Question: What feeling would people share in silence?
Answer: They would feel togetherness in sudden strangeness.

Question: How would silence affect fishermen?
Answer: Fishermen would not harm whales.

Question: What does this image suggest?
Answer: It suggests harmony between humans and nature.

Question: Who is the man gathering salt mentioned in the poem?
Answer: He is a labourer working hard for survival.

Question: What would the salt gatherer do during silence?
Answer: He would look at his hurt hands.

Question: What does looking at hurt hands symbolise?
Answer: It symbolises self-awareness and reflection on suffering.

Question: How does the poem view human activity?
Answer: It sees excessive activity as harmful.

Question: What message does the poet give about violence?
Answer: Silence can reduce violence and destruction.

Question: Does the poet ask for permanent silence?
Answer: No, he asks only for a brief pause.

Question: Why does the poet choose counting till twelve?
Answer: It symbolises completeness and universality.

Question: What kind of world does the poet imagine?
Answer: A peaceful world with understanding and compassion.

Question: How does silence help human beings?
Answer: It helps them understand themselves and others.

Question: What is the tone of the poem?
Answer: The tone of the poem is calm, thoughtful, and philosophical.

Question: What overall message does the poem convey?
Answer: The poem conveys the importance of silence for peace and harmony.

Answer by Dimpee Bora