A look at Pablo Neruda’s ‘Keep Silent’

Introspection is a virtue that seems to have come out of the contemporary world. Pablo Neruda is affirming the importance of this revered virtue in his thoughtful poem ‘Callando’. The poem begins with a couplet in which the poet offers to count to twelve and asks the whole world to be silent for a while.

Here, a question arises. Why does the poet count to twelve? When an activity must start in unison, it is customary to count to three (in most cases) or four before the start of the activity. But the relevance of the number 12 is a matter of contemplation. The poet may be referring to the number of the clock; but why so long? Is it because the poet thinks that today’s world, where everyone talks and no one listens, is so used to talking that it will be a while before the poet’s message registers?

The poet wants the entire world, regardless of territorial or language barriers, to stop all its activities for a while. Pablo Neruda indirectly points out that the talks and activities of today’s world are more destructive than constructive, and so cease for a while. His tone in the next verse shows that he is more or less relishing this ‘exotic’ moment when the whole world shares a rare union of strange inactivity.

This inactivity does not have a negative quality. This induces the man to think about things that he had never considered before. The fishermen would not harm the whales and the salinero will attend to their affected hands. In short, man will begin to think of himself and others. The whales represent ‘others’ and the salt collector tending to his own hands represents man thinking of himself.

The poet assumes that when man has time to think about himself and others, perhaps those who are involved in different types of war (green wars, gas wars, fire wars) will realize the futility of their wars. triumphant with few survivors and blend in. with their peers in a new friendship and love. Green war can mean jungle or man-made wars that cause environmental degradation. The second explanation seems to be more relevant.

Here Neruda wants to clarify a point. When he recommends inactivity, he is not referring to death or torpor. It refers to the life in which deep thoughts take place. The man is now worried about his own life. When he only cares about his own life, he will be more afraid of death. Pablo Neruda advises man to allow himself a certain introspection through which he understands himself and his fellow men. So he may not be as threatened by death. The poet wants us human beings to learn a lesson from the earth. While the winter Earth appears to be all dead and dormant, it will be undergoing a process of rejuvenation and come spring, it will emerge all lush with vibrant life. Likewise, man must undergo this quiet introspection and then emerge with a new energy that will give him and everything around him a new life.