Class 12 English — Chapter 10: Keeping Quiet

What you'll learn

• ▸The Call for Stillness and Introspection
• ▸The 'Exotic Moment' of Unity
• ▸Halting Harm and Fostering Self-Awareness
• ▸Critique of War and Promotion of Brotherhood
• ▸Stillness versus Total Inactivity
• ▸The 'Sadness' of Misunderstanding Ourselves
• ▸The Earth as a Symbol of Rejuvenation
• ▸Pablo Neruda's Poetic Vision

Chapter Summary

--- PAGE 1 --- 2 Keeping Quiet About the poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) is the pen name of Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto who was born in the town of Parral in Chile. Neruda's poems are full of easily understood images which make them no less beautiful. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in the year 1971. In this poem Neruda talks about the necessity of quiet introspection and creating a feeling of mutual understanding among human beings. Before you read What does the title of the poem suggest to you? What do you think the poem is about? 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. 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. Reprint…

Practice Questions from this Chapter

Tap "Get Solution" on any question to ask our AI tutor.

1. Explore silence's calming effects. Get Solution →
2. Discover effects of global pause. Get Solution →
3. Visualize a world without war. Get Solution →
4. What is the pen name of the poet who wrote 'Keeping Quiet'? Get Solution →
5. In what year did Pablo Neruda win the Nobel Prize for Literature? Get Solution →
6. To what number does the poet suggest we count in order to 'all keep still'? Get Solution →
7. During the moment of quiet, what would the fishermen in the cold sea NOT do? Get Solution →
8. What would the man gathering salt do during the moment of introspection? Get Solution →

Did you know?

• 💡 The quietest room on Earth absorbs 99.99% of all sound.
• 💡 Your brain never stops working, even when you are completely still.
• 💡 Some animals can enter a state of deep stillness called torpor.
• 💡 Sound cannot travel in outer space, making it perfectly silent.
• 💡 Ancient civilizations often used base-12 number systems for measurements.

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