Keeping Quiet - Q. & A.

Class 12 English (Flamingo)
Poem - Keeping Quiet

Extra Questions and Answers
(All the answers given here, are just for your idea. Develop your own answers.)
Short Answer Type

Question 1.
What will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us achieve ?
Answer:
Counting upto twelve and keeping still gives us time to introspect ourselves. In this way, we can
recuperate our energy and restart our activities with fresh energy and zeal.
Question 2.
Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death ?
Answer:
No, the poet does not advocate total inactivity and death. He only wants us to keep quiet for a few
seconds and suspend all our activities for a few seconds. In this way we can introspect our¬selves
and restart our activities with fresh energy and zeal.
Question 3.
What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
Answer:
When people don’t introspect themselves they fail to understand themselves, then ‘sadness’ arises.
The poet wants that people should overcome this sadness by introspecting themselves.
Question 4.
What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent stillness ?
Answer:
In this poem, the poet uses the symbol of the earth to say that there can be life under apparent
stillness. He says that the earth appears to be dead in the winter season. But when the spring season
comes it becomes alive with all its new plants. It never takes rest.
Question 5.
How would keeping quiet affect the life in and around the sea ?
Answer:
It will affect the life in and around the sea in two ways. The fishermen will stop fishing for some time. It
will help the number of the fish to recuperate. The man gathering salt will get some time to see his
hurt hands get healed.
Question 6.
‘Life is what at is about;How is keeping quiet related to life ?
Answer:
Keeping quiet is related to life not death. The poet says that by keeping quiet we get some time to
introspect ourselves. Keeping quiet helps us to recuperate our energy. In this way we can start our
activities with fresh zeal and energy.
Question 7.
Why does one feel ‘a sudden strangeness’ on counting to twelve and keeping quiet ?
Answer:
When we keep quiet for some time and suspend all our activities for some time, we feel a sort of
strangeness. The reason is that we are always surrounded by the noise of machines, etc. When there
is no sound, we feel a sort of strangeness.
Question 8.
How will ‘keeping quiet’ protect our environment ?
Answer:
Keeping quiet helps us to stop wars. In this way it helps to prevent destruction of environment due to
wars. Also, it prevents deforestation. In this way, we can say that keeping quiet is the only way to
prevent our environment from all types of pollution.
Question 9.
What does the poet want us to tell ?
Answer:
The poet wants us to tell that by keeping quiet and remaining still for few moments, we will be able to
do our work in a more effective way. We can analyse our past actions and not repeat our past,
mistakes.
Question 10.
What does the poet mean by saying ‘victory with no survivors’ ?
Answer:
According to the poet the wars cause a lot of destruction. A lot of people die from both the sides.
Therefore, no one can claim that their side has won, since the so called victor also has to face a lot of
causalities.
Question 11.
What are the different types of wars mentioned in the poem ?
Or
What is Neruda’s attitude towards these wars?
Answer:
The poet says that there are green wars. He means t to say that the people who destroy forests also
wage a war against their own coming generations. There are wars with fire, chemical weapons and
poisonous gases. The wars bring so much destruction that no side could be called victorious. The
poet wants that all these wars should be stopped. These wars bring nothing but destruction.
Question 12.
How does the earth teach us that there is activity even in apparent stillness ?
Answer:
We think that earth is dead as it remains still. But many changes are taking place under the surface of
the earth. A seed that seems dead germinates under the earth and a new life springs from it.
Long Answer Type
Question 1.
Write in brief the summary of the poem.
Answer:
The poet wants everyone to count up to twelve in their mind. He wants every one of us to be calm
and still. The poet wants that one should not talk in any language. He means to say that every person
of the world should be quiet for few seconds. There would not be any rush. There would not be the
jarring sounds of machines. The poet wants that the fishermen should not hunt whales in the sea. He
also wants that the persons who gather salt should suspend their activities for a few seconds.
The poet says that the people who destroy forests also wage a war against their own coming
generations. There are wars with fire, chemical weapons and poisonous gases. The was bring so
much destruction that no side could be called victorious. The poet knows that the soldiers have to
follow the orders. He implores them to leave the army and instead of uniforms wear clean clothes.
They should walk with their civilian brothers and suspend their all war-related activities and walk idly
under the shade.
The poet wants that we should not be self-centred. The poet says that the people are rushing to
complete their tasks. But he says that by keeping quiet for a few seconds, they can understand the
true purpose of life. The poet wants that we should not be self-centred. The poet says that the people
are rushing to complete their tasks. The poet says that by keeping quiet for a few seconds they can
understand the true purpose of life. The poet says that the earth can provide us all type of guidance.
He says that it appears dead and lifeless in winter. But when the summer season comes everything
again comes to life. Similarly, after taking a short pause we can restart our activities in a new way.
Therefore, the poet asks the people to take a pause, count to twelve and walks out of the scene.
Question 2.
Write the central idea of the poem.
Answer:
In this poem, the poet tells us about the value of quiet introspection. He wants us to keep quiet for
twelve seconds and stop every movement of the body. He implores the fishermen not to harm the
whales. He also wants the man gathering salt to stop his activities for a few minutes, since he has
hurt his hands. The poet says that wars are useless.
These wars leave no survivors. However the poet doesn’t advocate total inactivity. He says that
something that appears to be dead now later proves to be alive. Total inactivity is death, the poet just
wants us to suspend our activities for a few seconds.
***********************************

Keeping Quiet - Q. & A.

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Keeping Quiet - Q. & A.

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Class 12 English (Flamingo)

Poem - Keeping Quiet

Short Answer Type

You might also like