by Pablo Neruda
A poem about introspection and peace of mind.
“Now we will count to twelve / and we will all keep still.”
Answer the following questions:
1) What will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us achieve?
By counting up to twelve and keeping still, we will achieve a peaceful state of mind. People will not go through their day in a hectic and restless manner. Every person will be able to introspect / reflect and be able to connect with their inner self. They can analyze how they are leading their lives.
2) Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death?
No, the poet does not advocate total inactivity and death. The poet tells us to remain quiet and still in a state of meditation. He does not support remaining inactive. He even says that life is all about remaining active, but in a positive and calm way.
3) What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
The poet is talking about the sadness of never understanding ourselves and of threatening ourselves with death. The poet also suggests that this sadness can be interrupted by a huge silence through meditation or introspection.
4) What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent stillness?
The poet uses the symbol of Earth to say that there can be life under apparent stillness. The Earth seems still and quiet from outside, but it is a source of life for so many living beings. There are so many processes going on inside the Earth. Similarly, when we remain motionless and quiet, we are also meditating, introspecting or reflecting on our own actions, even though from the outside we seem really still.
Poem Analysis:
* Rhyme Scheme:
The poem is written in blank verse.
* Figures of Speech:
1) Anaphora:
- we will count to twelve / and we will all keep still.
- let's not speak in any language / let's stop for one second
- wars with gas / wars with fire
2) Alliteration:
- we will
- speak / stop / second in line 4-5
- sudden strangeness
- his hurt hands
- clean clothes
3) Pun:
- arms (3 meanings - arms of humans, arms of the clocks, and weapons)
4) Repetition:
- without rush, without engines
5) Symbolism:
- 'Fishermen' symbolize the entire human race
- 'whales' symbolize all the other forms of life
- 'clean clothes' symbolize peace
- 'Earth' symbolizes something that can appear still from outside, but throbs with life within.
6) Personification:
- Earth can teach us
7) Enjambment:
- Many sentences of the poem have been continued and pushed down to the next line without the use of punctuation mark.
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