Katie

Blount English 1302 Project #2

What Silence Can Teach Us: An Analysis on Pablo Nerudas Keeping Quiet
When was the last time that you were able to take a break from your crazy,

hectic schedule? The world is an extremely noisy and busy place. Most people are so caught up in their job, school or family obligations that they do not have any time left for themselves. It is so important to have some calm in our lives to keep from going completely crazy. Pablo Neruda makes this evident in his poem, Keeping Quiet. He asks his readers to stop for one second and let the earth teach us. Nerudas voice in the poem is persuading and sincere, because he wanted this poem to be able to impact the world and make it a better place. Keeping Quiet is about the importance of a time of quiet, personal self-discovery for every person. Neruda says that without a specific time of discovering ones self, humans will never be able to fully understand themselves, or the world around them for that matter. Our lives are constantly moving, so it is only natural that we are primarily concerned with what we have to get done or where we have to be. Rare as it may be, when we do have a small break, we do not know what to do with our time. It is strange for us to do nothing. We have to always be doing something; anything to keep us going. We are single-minded, as Neruda describes us (Neruda). Most of us do not take the time to sit and take in the world. We are not content to simply be still and just breathe. Pablo Neruda was born in Chile in 1904. Throughout the course of his life, he

was appointed consul for Spanish emigration, Consul General in Mexico, and he was the senator of the Republic of Chile. Most of the poems that he wrote in his life show the toll that his political activities had taken on him. Most poems, like Keeping Quiet, were written in an extremely difficult situation. He had to live underground for two years, because he had protested against the President. In 1971, Pablo Neruda was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for a poetry with the action of an elemental force that brings alive a continents destiny and dreams (Pablo Neruda- Biography). It is important to keep the authors history in mind when reading Keeping Quiet. Because Neruda was going through a lot of stress and anxiety, he was able to deal with those issues by writing; and in writing poems, he was able to give the world some extremely helpful and encouraging advice. Keeping Quiet was written and included in a collection of sixty-eight poems

that Neruda called Extravagaria in 1974. The main idea of all of these poems was the idea of having more peace and silence in ones life, which is exactly what Keeping Quiet is about. It was not that Neruda did not like talking with or being around others. He was not a recluse who did not want to have any friends. His view was just that he had a huge desire to rediscover and explore himself, and that was something that he had to do on his own (Roses). Keeping Quiet could really be written to any one and everyone. There is not a specific audience for the poem. However, the people that would be able to make the most out of Keeping Quiet would definitely be the people who feel overwhelmed by their busy life. Neruda begins Keeping Quiet by stating, now we will count to twelve

(Neruda). His introductory sentence is a very simple sentence, but there is

 something about Nerudas word choice that immediately draws the audience in. Twelve seconds is not a long amount of time at all, and anyone can do pretty much

anything for twelve seconds. For this reason, Neruda chose to use twelve seconds as an example right at the beginning of his poem. He wanted to make it clear upfront that what he wanted people to do did not have to take up their entire day, and that it was very simple. Anyone could do it. Neruda states that if everyone would be still and quiet for a short amount of time, we would all be together in a sudden strangeness (Neruda). We would be closer to understanding each other as fellow humans, and more importantly, closer to understanding ourselves individually. He also gives his audience some visual images to think about: Fishermen in the cold sea would not harm whales (Neruda). Not only is Neruda telling his readers that one should take a break from work some times, but he is also showing them. By showing the audience what he is talking about instead of simply telling them, Neruda is using a literary technique that really helps the readers to connect more with the poem. Neruda makes his words come alive and be real to his readers. When one reads this line, they can imagine a scene playing out over a calm sea. Even reading this part of the poem can have a calming effect. Neruda also makes the point that if everyone is quiet, peace will automatically occur. Wars would stop, and soldiers would walk with their enemies, not worrying about fighting. Nerudas tone makes a slight change when he begins talking about the single-mindedness of human beings. One can hear a sense of frustration and anger in his voice. He is obviously tired of people who only care about themselves and their schedule. Reading Keeping Quiet can really make one think about their life and how

fast it is moving. In the blink of an eye, this year will be over; then the next one, and the next one, and so on and so forth. The world would be much more peaceful and happy if everyone took Pablo Nerudas advice to heart. There are so many people who deal with some kind of worry or anxiety every single day. Having those in their life can really hurt people, and it is in ones best interest to do whatever possible to release stress in their life. Research shows that having a time to be calm, relax and not worry about the world will greatly reduce ones stress and anxiety. Meditation is a very popular form of stress relieving. Meditation has been known to increase blood flow, slow the heart rate, and lower oxygen consumption (Research on Meditation As a Treatment). Pablo Neruda wrote Keeping Quiet long before there was any research done on this subject, so that shows that the idea of self-discovery and meditation has been around for a very long time. Sometimes, when one takes the time to rediscover their selves, they really end up finding out so much more that they had never imagined or even dreamed was possible.