Pablo Neruda

Vikram Singh Nagore 1

About the poet
Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) was
born in Parral, Chile. His real
name was Neftali Ricardo Reyes
Basoalto. His writing was simple
and hence beautiful. His images
were easily understood.
He wrote in green ink showing
his concern for the environment.
He was a distinguished Poet -
Diplomat of Chilean Government
and won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1971.

Vikram Singh Nagore 2

In ‘Keeping Quiet’, Neruda talks about the
necessity of quiet introspection and
creating a feeling of mutual
understanding among human beings. The
poet visualizes a state of comfortable
inertia where he wishes for pleasant
idleness and relaxation away from the rat
race, destructive activities and futile
wars. He wishes for a profound silence
and stillness that would alleviate the
sadness caused by lack of understanding
and the threat of self destruction and
build up a sense of togetherness.
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 Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.

The poet asks everyone to take out time of

their busy lives and count to twelve. He urges
to calm down for self-introspection.
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 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.
He requests the whole world not to use any
language and not move our arms so much for
a while as it will become a hurdle in keeping
quiet. He says speech can breed contempt,
hatred and discrimination.
Man moves his arms to show aggression, to
kill and destroy others.
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 It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.
This moment of sudden silence would be
unusual for there will be no sound of the rush
of life, no hustle-bustle and no noise of any kind
of engines. In this moment of silence, we can
experience a strange kind of togetherness, a
feeling of brotherhood that is otherwise not
possible in a busy world.
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Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.

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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.

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The people who are always involved in
destructive activities against the environment
will stop. All the wars with chemical weapons
like gas and fire will stop. Wars are always
destructive and hardly any survivor is left.
So wars never bring victories. For a change
all these kind of people will put on clean
clothes, walk in a fresh environment, and
promote bonds of brotherhood and unity.

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 What I want should not be
confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death..
The poet warns the readers that his message
should not be confused with total inactivity.
Life is work and inactivity is like death. So we
should not only be focused upon keeping busy,
moving ahead but should also spare a few
moments for ourselves. In that hour of silence,
we should indulge in self-introspection.
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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.

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A long silence can do us a lot of good. Men
become sad when they fail to understand
themselves. They feel helpless when they
threaten themselves with death. A long
silence can soothe our feelings and help us
in removing this sadness. It will give them
time to understand themselves better.

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 Perhaps the Earth can teach us
As when everything seems dead
And later proves to be alive.

The Earth teaches us about the perpetual cycle

of life and death. When everything dies, new life
gets ready to shape up. A seed that seems dead
germinates under the earth and a new life
springs from it. In the same manner, during
hours of silence, we can think of creative ideas,
revive a new life of tranquillity and peace.
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 Now I’ll count up to twelve
And you keep quiet and I will go.

The poet has conveyed the purpose of his

message. He asks the people once again to
take a pause, count till twelve and walks
out leaving us thoughtful.

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Thank
You
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