Summary And Explanation: Poem 3 - Keeping Quiet Video Lecture | English Flamingo Class 12

hi I'm drew chica I welcome you to the
English Academy here I have a poem for
students of class 12 the name of the
poem is keeping quiet by Pablo Neruda
this is the famous personality who was
born in the year 1904 and wrote by the
pen name of Pablo Neruda later he made
it his legal name he was a famous
Chilean poet diplomat and politician who
won the Nobel Prize for Literature in
the year 1971 his usual style of writing
was that he used green ink which was his
personal symbol for the desire and hope
he had his writings are considered to be
simple and this is their beauty
originally he wrote in Spanish this poem
which we are talking about was written
originally in Spanish and its essence is
based on introspection and retrospection
so the poet is trying to convey that we
need soul-searching to be at peace with
ourselves and with others now I would
give an explanation of the poem the
first stanza says now we will count to
12 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 students
you can see that the language of the
poem is very simple there are no
difficult words here and I would like to
tell you now what the poet is trying to
convey in this stanza the poet asks us
to count up to 12 in our minds so what
correlation can you draw about the
number 12 well I feel that the number 12
represents the 12 hours of the clock or
even the number of months in a year so
the poet is telling all of us to keep
calm and stay still he does not want us
to move now generally I don't think that
ever it comes in the it has happened
that everything has come to a still in
the whole world so what this poet is
saying is something very unusual very
unrealistic he wants all the people
across the nations and continents to
unite together as one they should keep
quiet and not speak any particular
language now we all have different
languages in different countries so due
to that we have created a barrier
between people of different regions so
he wants us to break those barriers and
consider ourselves to be one we should
not be have any distinction even of
languages and rather he wants everyone
to be same to be united and speak the
language of silence that will be same I
think he feels like that the poet feels
that by doing so there will be unity
among all the human beings on the face
of the earth so then he says for at
least one single moment no one shall
move his arms so arms can we can see our
physical arms also and also the arms and
ammunitions the weapons which people are
using so much indiscriminately they are
using the weapons against each other
so he is trying to say that we should
not fight with each other we should not
use our arms to signal to each other
anything or argue with each other the
second stanza of the poem 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 veils and the man
gathering salt would look at his hot
hands
again the language of the stanza the
language of the poet is very simple now
I were to give the meaning what he
saying in this passage so he says that
when everything will come to a
standstill so this will be very rare
this has never happened earlier in the
history of the world that everything all
the people are just standing still doing
nothing so he says no engines would be
running because people are not moving
their arms they would not switch on any
engines engines could be like the
vehicles the aeroplanes the machinery in
the factories any type of engines
machines he's trying to say he says that
everyone will be calm and quiet no
engines no noise no sound so there will
be calmness all around and everything
will get united in a strange atmosphere
now why he says it's strange because it
has never happened earlier so people
will find it strange he says that no
person would be harming any other living
being when he says that no one no person
would be fishing any whales out of the
seas so he says that no person will harm
any other living being either for his
food to satisfy his hunger or to earn
his livelihood people hunt people fish
out animals and sell them to earn money
so he says it no one would be doing
anything of that sort and he feels that
all the people will get some spare time
to look at their own selves he says that
the person who is collecting salt will
look at his own injured hands so they
can we are so busy in doing our works
that we do not get any time to look at
our own selves that how we have ruined
our our own selves so when we will be
calm quiet sitting at peace for some
time we would have the time to look at
our own selves to ponder over what we
are doing are we doing something good
for us or are we ruining our own selves
so that's the aim of the poet that why
he wants that the world should come at a
standstill for some moments the third
stanza of the poem those who prepare
green wars wars with gas wars with fire
victory with no survivors
but put on clean clothes and walk about
doing and walk about with their brothers
in the shade doing nothing what I want
should not be confused with total
inactivity life is what it is about
I want no truck with death so what does
he try to convey in this passage he says
is that people who exploit the nature
the green wealth of our earth by doing
different types of acts maybe
deforestation or extensive mining or
fishing or else people are extracting
oils out of the earth doing deep mining
into the earth so what we are doing we
are doing a green war against our own
earth we are digging our own graves by
doing so and the other vorgitch is
saying is that we are killing our own
fellow human beings with fire with
weapons so he says that we need some
time to think to think within ourselves
into what we are really doing what is
the consequence of our actions we are by
killing the earth by killing fellow
human beings by killing animals we are
ourselves digging our own graves we are
bringing ourselves to the doom so he
says that people some people are merely
following their orders some adjusted
earning their livelihoods but actually
they just don't know what is the
consequence of death action
so he says rather we should consider
that we all are one they all are
brothers and sisters
he says he wants them to put on new
clothes now new clothes means to adopt a
new approach towards your own life and
realize that killing so many people is
in no way a victory so the poet says
that you think that you have become
victorious when you win a war but
actually you are ruined your own
foundations are getting weaker so he is
trying to promote Brotherhood universal
brotherhood peace and fraternity
equality among all the people he does
not want us to stop our works he says
that I don't want it everything should
come to a standstill that I want people
should not do any
thing but he wants people to take out
some time from their busy schedule and
to analyze the consequences the results
of what they are doing the fourth stanza
of the poem 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 this is a very meaningful
stanza from the poem in this the poet is
saying that all the human beings are
busy doing just their tasks achieving
their goals so what is the aim the aim
is of survival in order to survive in
this world they have to accomplish these
tasks which have they have been assigned
they are threatened by death death can
come at any moment so everyone is in a
hurry to complete as many tasks as they
can till the time they die so this mad
rush they just don't analyze what they
are doing this is very meaningful very
deeply the poet has gone into the
psychology of all the people he says
that perhaps if you pause for a while
you just stop all doing all these tasks
which you are in a mad rush about you
could just appreciate your achievements
and feel happy about it people are so
busy in accomplishing their task that
they don't even feel happy about what
they have accomplished it's just like
okay come Monday next day next day
they're in a hurry hurry hurry so that
is how your life passes and you just
don't even realize the consequences of
what you have done you don't even enjoy
what you have achieved in life so he
suggests that by keeping quiet for a few
moments perhaps we will be able to
understand the true purpose of our life
that we would get a true meaning to our
life then the fifth stanza perhaps the
earth can teach us as when everything
seems dead and later proves to be alive
now I count up to 12 and you keep quiet
and
I will go so in this stanza the poet is
saying that perhaps we should take a
teaching from our nature from our earth
how the earth undergoes changes in
winters everything on the earth freezes
becomes lifeless so we think if we
consider that everything is over it's
not like that because as the season
changes again spring comes and
everything is alive again all the trees
plants seas which had frozen earlier
which were relief less lifeless again
cheer up again come back to life
similarly he say is that if we take a
pause and introspect into our life give
it a new meaning after that again we
will we can give a new meaning to our
life
he says that after that we would be able
to understand the purpose of our life it
would be like a rebirth for our souls so
the poet has conveyed to the people the
purpose of his message and after that he
feels that he now the people know why he
is said this poem why he is asking us to
keep quiet after that he says that ok
now I have told you the purpose of my
message why I am saying this now I will
give you a count of 12 and he walks out
of the scene and he hopes that all the
people will count till twelve they will
give an introspection into their lives
in extra section into their relationship
with others and they will give a better
meaning to their life better purpose to
their life and give a rebirth to
themselves
students are hope that I have explained
and you have understand the poem in a
better way thank you for watching this
video and for more such lessons do visit
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