Keeping Quiet Summary Class 12 English

Introduction

Keeping Quiet is a poem from the book Flamingo (Class 12^th NCERT book). It was written by Pablo Neruda. It was first written in Spanish and later translated to English. The central idea of the poem is the realization of importance of silence in our lives. It is an anti-war poem that asks humanity to stop violence and harming other humans or animals, and this could be achieved through self-introspection. The author asks us to just stop for a moment and introspect ourselves in order to gain peace and harmony. The author also suggests that how being quiet in the world full of noise can help us achieve peace of mind and happiness.

Here is the summary of the poem Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda

Summary

"Keeping Quiet" is a poem written by Pablo Neruda, originally known as Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. With this poem, the poet wants us to understand the power of silence and how we can achieve peace and harmony with silence. It is an anti-war poem that asks humanity to stop violence and harming other humans or animals, which could be achieved through self-introspection.

In the first two lines, the poet asks us to count till twelve and remain still. Here 'count till twelve' is symbolic and may signify unity as the hands of a clock unite at twelve. The poet asks us not to speak in any language as languages create barriers and limitations between humans and speak the universal language of silence. In the next two lines, the poet asks us to stop moving our arms, that is, to stop hustling and working for a while and rest for a moment.

In the next stanza, the poet describes how it would be a beautiful and strange moment when there would be no rush and no noise of machines, and we all would be united by silence. There would be no killing and harming of animals for selfish reasons. Salt gatherers at sea coasts would also stop working and look at their hands which are injured and wounded due to working tirelessly.

In the next stanza, the poet talks about the men who are preparing for war, who gain victory with the deaths of the soldiers, will stop for a while and unite with their enemy, doing nothing. Thus, the poet is against war and its repercussions and promotes peace and harmony. The poet doesn't want us to get confused with total inactivity. Instead, he just wants no more deaths due to wars or other harmful activities.

In the next stanza, the poet says that if we were not self-oriented, greedy, and materialistic toward growing ourselves continuously, we would be able to understand ourselves (our souls) in a better way. In other words, our greed is the main cause of wars and destruction. The poet believes that if we keep silent for a moment, we can cure our sadness which is a part of our lives.

In the poem's last stanza, the poet describes that how all the creations of nature undergo a rebirth with the change of seasons, similarly, keeping quiet will be a rebirth for the human soul. Again, in the last two lines, the poet says he will count till twelve and asks everyone to remain quiet.