CBSE Class 12 English Flamingo Keeping Quiet Worksheet

Short AnswerType Questions :

Question. What does the poet say about fishermen ?
Answer : The poet says that quiet introspection will bring about a change in the outlook of fishermen. They would no longer harm whales out of their greed. They would fish only as much as they need for their survival.

Question. How can the suspension of activities help ? 
Answer : The poet doesn’t advocate total inactivity. He wants us to suspend all our activities for a few moments only. It will help us to understand ourselves. Then we can start our activities afresh in a better and purposeful manner.

Question. What idea does Pablo Neruda want to convey in his poem, ‘Keeping Quiet’ ?
Answer : The poet wants to say that we should stop our worldly activities for a few moments and do some quiet introspection. It will help us to understand ourselves. Then we can start our activities afresh in a better and purposeful manner.

Question. ‘Life is what it is all about ......’ How is keeping quiet related to life ? 
Answer : Keeping quiet refreshes both our mind and body. We can then restart our activities afresh in a better and purposeful manner. Thus keeping quiet is very closely related to life.

Question. What does the poet say about those ‘who prepare green wars’ ?
Answer : The poet says that there are people who enjoy making wars. They want to win victories even if there are no survivors after the victory. The poet says that these people will stop making wars if they can take out some time for quiet introspection. They will then look upon all others not as their enemies, but as their brothers.

Question. What does the poet want all of us to do ?
Answer : The poet wants us to stop all our activities for a few moments — only for as long as it will take to count to twelve. We should keep still and not move even our arms. We should remain silent and not say anything while we are sitting still.

Question. What does the poet mean when he says, “Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still.” ?
Answer : The poet means to say that we should stop all our activities for a few moments. We should sit still and keep quiet. We should not move even our arms and say no word. It will help us to do a little introspection and understand ourselves.

Question. What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent stillness ? 
Or
How is the earth a source of life when all seems dead on it ?
Or
How is total inactivity on the earth in the winter months full of life ?
Answer : The poet uses the symbol of the earth. He says that in winter, the earth seems to be dead. But later in spring, it is proved that it is alive, not dead. It has new colours and beauties added to it. Thus the poet proves that there can be life under apparent stillness.

Question. Why does one feel ‘a sudden strangeness’ on counting one to twelve and keeping quiet ?
Answer : Counting one to twelve doesn’t take one much time. But during this brief moment, one experiences a sudden strangeness. One feels quite at peace with oneself. The mind becomes free from all kinds of worries and troubles.

Question. What does the poet say about the man gathering salt ?
Answer : In his greed to collect more and more salt, the man has hurt his hands. If he spares a few moments for quiet introspection, he will realise the folly of his greed. He will look at his hurt hands and give up his greed.

Question. Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death ? 
Answer : No, the poet doesn’t say this at all. Whatever he says is connected with life and activities that can be made better. He only says that we should stop our activities for a few moments and have quiet introspection. It will help us to restart our activities in a better and purposeful manner.

Question. How, according to the poet, can we understand ourselves ?
Answer : The poet says that we should stop all our activities for a few moments and do quiet introspection. During these moments, we should not even move our arms. We should speak no word. Thus through introspection, we can understand ourselves.

Question. How will keeping quiet protect our environment ? 
Answer : If we keep quiet, there will be less of noise, and consequently less of noise pollution. Thus keeping quiet can help to protect our environment also.

Question. What will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us to achieve ? 
Answer : What the poet means to say is that we should stop all our activities for a few moments and do quiet introspection. It will help us to start our activities afresh in a better and purposeful manner.

Question. How, according to the poet, can earth teach us ?
Answer : When it is winter, everything on the earth seems to be dead. But later in spring, it is proved that the earth is alive, not dead. It has new colours and beauties added to it. Similarly, after the silence and stillness of quiet introspection, man can restart his activities in a better and purposeful manner.

Question. What are the different kinds of wars mentioned in the poem ? What is Neruda’s attitude towards these wars ? 
Answer : The wars mentioned in this poem are ‘green wars’ , i.e. fresh and new wars. The poet says that there are some people who enjoy making such wars. They want to win victories even if there are no survivors after the victory. The poet says that if the people take out some time for quiet introspection, they will stop making new wars. They will then look upon all others not as their enemies, but as their brothers.

Question. What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem ? 
Answer : It is the sadness of never understanding ourselves. Those who remain all the time busy in worldly activities can never understand themselves. We can understand ourselves only if we stop all our activities for a few moments and do some quiet introspection.

Question. How would keeping quiet affect life in and around the sea ? 
Answer : The fishermen roaming in the cold sea would stop harming whales. They will fish only that much as is necessary for them. The man collecting salt from the seashore would look at his hurt hands and be satisfied with as much as he has already collected.

Question. What does the poet say should not be confused with total inactivity ? Why ?
Answer : The poet says that we should stop all our activities for a few moments and do quiet introspection. But he says that it should not be confused with total inactivity. He says that the essence of life is activity while inactivity is death.

Question. What is ‘an exotic moment’ the poet Pablo Neruda wishes for ?
Or
Which is the exotic moment that the poet refers to in ‘Keeping Quiet’ ?
Answer : The poet calls the moment of quiet introspection ‘an exotic moment’. He calls it exotic because it will give us a very unusual feeling. We shall feel ourselves as one with all others. We will come out of all our greed, selfishness and cruelty.

Question. According to Pablo Neruda, what is it that human beings can learn from Nature ?
Answer : We can learn from Nature how to be peaceful with ourselves and how to grow at our own pace. We can also learn to remain satisfied with whatever we have.

Extra Questions :

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.

Question. What does the poet mean by ‘let’s not speak in any language’ ?
Answer : He only wants to say that we should keep silent and not say anything.

Question. Why does the poet want us to keep quiet ?
Answer : The poet wants us to keep quiet so that during this time we may do introspection.

Question. What does the poet mean by ‘not move our arms so much’ ?
Answer : The poet means to say that we should not only keep quiet, but also not move our body even a little.

Question. Describe the pun on the word, ‘arms.’
Answer : ‘Arms’ refers both to the human limbs and the weapons of war.

Question. What does he want us to do for one second ?
Answer : He asks us not to speak in any language for one second.

Question. How long does the poet want us to stay still ?
Answer : The poet wants us to stay still for the time it would take to count to twelve.

Question. Which two activities does the poet want us to stop ?
Answer : The poet wants us not to speak in any language and not to move our body or arms.

Question. What does he mean by ‘not move our arms’ ?
Answer : By ‘not move our arms’, the poet means to say that we shouldn’t make any physical movement.

Question. What is the significance of the number ‘twelve’ ?
Answer : The number ‘twelve’ signifies a twelve-hourly division between day and night. If the day is meant for work, the night is meant for rest.

Question. What does he hope to achieve by keeping quiet ?
Answer : By keeping quiet, he hopes to restart his activities afresh in a better and more purposeful manner.

It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.

Question. Who is the poet speaking to ?
Answer : The poet is speaking to all those people who realize the value of quiet introspection.

Question. What would that moment be like ?
Answer : It would be a very sweet and unusual moment. There would be no hurrying and no noise. In this silence, we would feel ourselves as one with all others.

Question. What does ‘it’ refer to ?
Answer : Here ‘it’ refers to the moment of quiet introspection.

Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.

Question. What do the hurt hands imply ?
Answer : The hurt hands imply the danger of being greedy and unsatisfied. The hurt hands warn the man that he should stop collecting more salt than he needs.

Question. What does the poet expect of the fishermen ?
Answer : The poet expects of the fishermen not to harm the whales in the cold sea.

Question. What will the man gathering salt do ?
Answer : He would look at his hurt hands.

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.

Question. Who are ‘those’ in line 1 ?
Answer : They are the people who enjoy making wars.

Question. Explain : ‘victory with no survivors’.
Answer : hese words underline the inhumanity of wars. The people who enjoy making wars want to win victories even though there may be no survivors after the wars. 

Question. Which figure of speech is used in the above stanza ?
Answer : Alliteration.

Question. What are ‘green wars’ ?
Answer : The ‘green wars’ mentioned in the poem are fresh and new wars.

What I want should not be
confused with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.

Question. What does the poet mean by ‘inactivity’ ?
Answer : By ‘inactivity’, the poet means leaving one’s work and depending on fate to bring happy outcomes.

Question. Explain what life is all about, according to the poet.
Answer : According to him, life is another name of doing the allotted work and of shunning the inactivity.

Question. Name the poem and the poet of the above stanza.
Answer : The name of the poem is ‘Keeping Quiet’ and its poet is Pablo Neruda.

Question. What is the ultimate expectation of the poet from all human beings.
Answer : He expects that all human beings will shed inactivity and do their allotted work while taking some time to do a thorough introspection.

Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

Question. What does the poet mean to achieve by counting up to twelve ?
Answer : To give the reader a little time for introspection by counting up to twelve. 

Question. What is the significance of keeping quiet ?
Answer : If we keep quiet for a few moments and do introspection, we can understand ourselves. Then we can restart our activities afresh in a better and purposeful manner.

Question. What does the earth teach us ?
Answer : The earth teaches us that by suspending our activities for a short while, we can start them afresh in a better manner.

About the Poet: Columbian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez called Pablo Neruda, the greatest poet of the 20th century of any language. Pablo Neruda always wrote with green ink which according to him was the colour of hope. He appeals to readers to take some time out of their busy lives for introspection and retrospection. The aim is to return to our routines with renewed vigour and awareness of ourselves and our actions.

Suggested Value Points :

Q1. a) By ‘exotic moment’ -moment of immense world peace, universal brotherhood love created through introspection and silence
b) exotic moment- stop all activity, remain silent and introspect on all his actions. Introspection- build
a sudden and strange feeling of universal brotherhood -harmony with man and nature.
c) symbolic of the hubbub of the modern life - competitive world of advancement- rat race to outshine others Life can be peaceful – stop thoughtless advancement

Q2.a) symbolise man’s indiscriminate exploitation of nature for his vested interests
b) man’s habit of working towards advancement - resulted in more harm than good- lost care and concern for his own brethren
c) image - of man’s incessant suffering -to add comforts to his life - paid no heed to the pain - causing to himself- who gather salt, have no time to reflect on the pain - caused to their hands.

Q3. a) The earth teaches us to be in harmony with others while remaining silent and productivelesson of preserving and resurrecting life.
b) ensures that life cycle of birth & death - the process of regeneration goes on unhampered.
c) Poet quietly departs leaving the meditator to experience exotic moment. - create a rejuvenation of thoughts -transition of mindset

Answer in 30-40 words

1. Twelve months, twelve zodiac signs, twelve gates of heaven and even the twelve notches on the face of the clock dividing the day into two halves of twelve hours each. number ‘twelve’ associated with many things in our life - title- ‘Keeping Quiet,’ has twelve letters. Poet appeals us to begin the journey from strife, barriers and destruction to peace, unity and replenishment.

2. The sadness - that of never being able to understand ourselves- arising out of - mad rush to achieve everything - constant fear of the brevity of our lives- causing harm to physical and mental health.

3. total inactivity only means temporary stillness, find time to introspect- death on the other hand, means the end of life. ‘No truck with death’ means that the poet does not advocate death; he only urges mankind to halt his activities for a few seconds.

4. points out to the life on earth- the things seeming to be dead under apparent stillness prove to be alive later- so inactivity does not mean lack of life but using life for positive and constructive activities.

5. does not advocate total inactivity. Admitting life - an ongoing process - wants man’s activities to be positively channelized. put an end to his hostile and destructive activities.