Figure of Speech in Keeping Quiet Class 12 Flamingo In-Depth Analysis | Figures of Language

Here is Keeping Quiet, a detailed exploration and explanation of the figure of speech and its many facets.  In this post, we have explained various examples of figurative speech, providing a comprehensive understanding of Keeping Quiet in terms of all Poetic Device. We have also told the reason why a particular figure of speech occurs in a particular line. This is going to help the children of various classes Class XII. Dive in for figure of speech examples- 

Figure of Speech in Keeping Quiet Stanza 1

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 a second,
and not move our arms so much.

1. Figure of Speech: Anaphora  
Exact Line: “let’s not speak in any language; / let’s stop for a second,”  
Reason: Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Here, “let’s” is repeated, creating a rhythmic emphasis on the actions proposed by the speaker.

2. Figure of Speech: Assonance  
Exact Line: “Now we will count to twelve, not move our arms so much.”  
Reason: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds within close proximity. The prominent ‘o’ sound in this line creates a melodic rhythm, enhancing the poetic quality of the verse.

3. Figure of Speech: Alliteration  
Exact Line: “we will”  
Reason: Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words. The repetition of the ‘w’ sound in “we will” adds a musical element to the line and draws attention to the collective action.

4. Figure of Speech: Symbolism  
Exact Line: “Now we will count to twelve”  
Reason: Symbolism involves using an object or action to represent an idea. Counting to twelve symbolizes a brief, defined period of time, representing a moment of global stillness and unity.

5. Figure of Speech: Metonymy  
Exact Line: “let’s not speak in any language;”  
Reason: Metonymy is a figure of speech where a thing or concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it. Here, “language” is used to represent different races and cultures, indicating a global silence transcending cultural differences.

6. Figure of Speech: Hyperbole  
Exact Line: “for once on the face of the earth,”  
Reason: Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally. The phrase “for once on the face of the earth” exaggerates the rarity and global scale of the action being suggested, emphasizing its significance.

7. Figure of Speech: Imagery  
Exact Line: “and not move our arms so much.”  
Reason: Imagery involves using descriptive language to create a vivid picture in the reader’s mind. This line creates a visual image of physical stillness and rest, underscoring the poem’s theme of pausing and reflection.

Also Read:

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Keeping Quiet Poetic Device- Stanza- 2

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 whales
and the man gathering salt
would not look at his hurt hands.

1.Figure of Speech: Imagery
Exact Lines: “Fishermen in the cold sea / would not harm whales” and “the man gathering salt / would not look at his hurt hands.”
Reason: Imagery involves using descriptive language to create a vivid picture in the reader’s mind. These lines create visual images of peaceful coexistence with nature and a break from labor, underscoring the poem’s theme of pausing and reflection.

2.Figure of Speech: Juxtaposition
Exact Line: “without rush, without engines”
Reason: Juxtaposition is the placement of contrasting elements close together to highlight their differences. Here, the absence of “rush” and “engines” is set against the idea of an “exotic moment,” emphasizing the contrast between modern life’s pace and the tranquility of stillness.

3.Figure of Speech: Symbolism
Exact Lines:
“Fishermen in the cold sea / would not harm whales”
“the man gathering salt”
Reason: Symbolism involves using an object or action to represent an idea. The fishermen and whales symbolize the oppressor and the oppressed, respectively, suggesting a moment of harmony and non-violence. The man gathering salt represents humanity, emphasizing the universal nature of the poem’s theme.

4. Figure of Speech: Alliteration
Exact Lines:
“we would” (repetition of the letter ‘W’)
“sudden strangeness” (repetition of the letter ‘S’)
“his hurt hands” (repetition of the letter ‘H’)
Reason: Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words. These repetitions add a musical element to the lines and draw attention to the respective phrases.

5. Figure of Speech: Hyperbole
Exact Line: “It would be an exotic moment”
Reason: Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally. Describing the moment of global stillness as “exotic” exaggerates its uniqueness and profound impact.

Also Read:

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Figures of Speech Poem – Keeping Quiet Stanza- 3

Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
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.

1.Figure of Speech: Alliteration
Exact Lines:
“wars with” (repetition of the letter ‘W’)
“clean clothes” (repetition of the letter ‘C’)
Reason: Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words. These repetitions add a musical element to the lines and draw attention to the respective phrases.

2. Figure of Speech: Assonance
Exact Line: “victory with no survivors, would put on clean clothes and walk about with their brothers.”
Reason: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds within close proximity. The prominent ‘o’ sound in these lines creates a melodic rhythm, enhancing the poetic quality of the verse.

3. Figure of Speech: Repetition
Exact Line: “wars with gas, wars with fire,”
Reason: Repetition involves using the same word or phrase multiple times to emphasize a concept. The repeated use of “wars” highlights the persistent theme of conflict and its consequences.

4. Figure of Speech: Irony
Exact Lines:
“Green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire.”
“victories with no survivors.”
Reason: Irony involves a contrast between expectations and reality. “Green wars” and “wars with gas, wars with fire” contrast the destructive nature of war with the misleadingly benign terms. “Victories with no survivors” is ironic because a victory usually implies success, but here it results in complete loss.

5.Figure of Speech: Symbolism
Exact Line: “clean clothes”
Reason: Symbolism involves using an object or action to represent an idea. “Clean clothes” symbolize peace and renewal, suggesting a fresh start away from conflict and violence.

6. Figure of Speech: Oxymoron
Exact Line: “victories with no survivors,”
Reason: An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms. This phrase juxtaposes “victories” with “no survivors,” highlighting the futility and tragedy of war.

7. Figure of Speech: Paradox
Exact Lines: “What I want should not be confused / with total inactivity. / Life is what it is about…”
Reason: A paradox is a statement that contradicts itself but reveals a deeper truth. This phrase suggests that doing nothing, in this context, is not about inactivity but about choosing life over death, a concept that seems contradictory but is deeply meaningful within the poem’s theme.

8. Figure of Speech: Metaphor
Exact Line: “I want no truck with death.”
Reason: A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison. Here, “truck” is used metaphorically to mean involvement or dealing. The poet is saying he wants no involvement with death, emphasizing a preference for life and peace.

Keeping Quiet Poetic Device Stanza 4

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.

1. Figure of Speech: Alliteration  
Exact Lines:  
– “we were” (repetition of the letter ‘W’)  
– “so single-minded” (repetition of the letter ‘S’)  
Reason: Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words. These repetitions add a musical element to the lines and draw attention to the respective phrases.

2. Figure of Speech: Enjambment  
Exact Lines: “and for once could do nothing, perhaps a huge silence / might interrupt this sadness / of never understanding ourselves / and of threatening ourselves with death.”  
Reason: Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza. This technique creates a sense of flow and continuity, emphasizing the interconnectedness of the ideas presented.

3. Figure of Speech: Hypothetical Situation (Conditional Statement)  
Exact Lines: “If we were not so single-minded / about keeping our lives moving, / and for once could do nothing,”  
Reason: This conditional statement presents a hypothetical situation, suggesting a different way of living in contrast to our usual state of constant motion and purpose.

4. Figure of Speech: Personification  
Exact Line: “a huge silence / might interrupt this sadness”  
Reason: Personification attributes human characteristics to non-human entities or abstract concepts. Here, “silence” is given the human ability to “interrupt,” suggesting it has the power to actively intervene in our emotional state.

5. Figure of Speech: Hyperbole  
Exact Line: “a huge silence”  
Reason: Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally. The phrase “a huge silence” amplifies the extent and impact of silence, suggesting it has a profound and expansive presence.

6. Figure of Speech: Imagery  
Exact Lines: “might interrupt this sadness / of never understanding ourselves”  
Reason: Imagery involves using descriptive language to create a vivid picture in the reader’s mind. These lines evoke a mental image of an introspective struggle, highlighting our often-unacknowledged inner turmoil.

7. Figure of Speech: Metaphor  
Exact Line: “threatening ourselves with death.”  
Reason: A metaphor describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison. Here, the metaphor suggests that our relentless pace of life and lack of self-understanding are akin to a threat of death, emphasizing the detrimental effects of our lifestyle.

Figures of Speech Poem – Keeping Quiet Stanza- 5

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

1.Figure of Speech: Personification
Exact Line: “Perhaps the Earth can teach us”
Reason: Personification is attributing human characteristics to non-human entities or abstract concepts. Here, the Earth is given the human ability to teach, suggesting that it has wisdom to offer, particularly about cycles of life and renewal.

2. Figure of Speech: Extended Metaphor
Exact Lines: “as when everything seems dead / and later proves to be alive.”
Reason: An extended metaphor is a comparison that is continued through several lines or throughout a poem. In these lines, the period of stillness and quiet is compared to winter, a time when life seems dormant but is actually preparing for renewal. This metaphor extends the idea of learning from natural cycles to human behavior and consciousness.

3.  Figure of Speech: Imagery
Exact Line: “as when everything seems dead / and later proves to be alive.”
Reason: Imagery involves using descriptive language to create a vivid picture in the reader’s mind. This line evokes the image of the natural cycle of seasons, symbolizing hope and rebirth.

4. Figure of Speech: Contrast
Exact Line: “everything seems dead / and later proves to be alive”
Reason: The stark contrast between what “seems dead” and what “proves to be alive” highlights the transformative power of nature and the potential for unexpected renewal.

5. Figure of Speech: Repetition
Exact Lines: “Now I’ll count up to twelve / and you keep quiet and I will go.”
Reason: Repetition is used to reinforce a concept or theme. The repetition of the counting and the instruction to keep quiet ties back to the poem’s opening, creating a sense of closure and emphasizing the poem’s central theme of silence and introspection.

Keeping Quiet Poetic Devices

 `Count to twelve’ — symbolizes a measure of time. The clock has twelve markings on it, the year has twelve months and the day has twelve hours. `Fishermen in the cold sea…hurt hands’-symbolic image showing how man is ruthlessly destroying nature for his selfish need. The ‘hurt hands’ of the salt gatherer symbolises how he is harming himself by his mindless activities.

 Fisherman and whale stand for the oppressor and oppressed respectively. ‘Cold sea’ — transferred epithet.

 Put on clean clothes’- Alliteration

Introspection will make us comprehend the destructive nature of wars. Man would cleanse his heart purging it of hatred.

`Brothers’ — a symbol of mankind

`In the shade’ — metaphor — just as shade protects us from the harsh sun, we will protect and shelter each other as brothers, thus live in peace and harmony.

`Clean clothes’ symbolize peace and change in one’s perspective.

`Earth can teach us as when everything’ — Personification. Earth is personified as a teacher. When the earth appears to be dead, it is actually dormant and carefully preserving the seeds of life, human beings too need to keep still and quiet to re-awaken the life forces to be productive.

The poet urges people to get into a mode of total inactivity for some seconds. There should only be silence, no movement and a mood of introspection. He condemns the mundane activities. He says that we should not indulge in any mindless activity or speak in any language, nor does he want any gestures of arms that can distract or disturb. He says that we should commit ourselves to complete silence and inactivity

This moment of complete inactivity would be an extraordinary, memorable or cherished moment. There would be no rush of activity, no noise and no disturbance. Man would not have to cope with the fast pace of life. This would be a profound moment of bonding and togetherness. There would be a complete relaxation of mind, body and soul.

The poet talks about a metaphorical concept when he says that fishermen would not harm marine life. ‘Cold sea’ denotes the coldness of fishermen who do not bother about protection of sea life and in moments of inactivity, they would not be able to disturb the sea animals. The salt gatherers would also stop to look at their calloused hands that hurt due to this activity. They too would pause to think about their mindless activities and their effects.

 The poet feels that the whole speculation of wars and their destructive qualities would be negated during those moments of silence. ‘Green wars’ refers to environmental degradation caused by human activities, ‘wars’ with gases and fires refers to wars fought with nuclear and bioweapons. A man may get the satisfaction of being victorious but ironically, wars leave behind no survivors.

Those human beings who wage wars would be cleansed of all the murk and dirt from their minds. They would then walk about with other individuals and exhibit amity, brotherhood and harmony. They would do nothing to harm mankind or nature.

The poet does not wish to advocate total inactivity or silence, which may be misunderstood, and confused with death. Life continues to remain what we make of it. If we were not so concerned about keeping our lives active, i.e., doing things mindlessly and waging wars. We perhaps would not lose sight of our goals. Our desire to achieve goals makes us single-minded and desperate. It is then that we lose all perspective. The poet feels that silence for a while might alleviate sadness from our lives. Quiet productivity in place of all activities is desirable. The end of all activities does not mean death but just a break from the monotony of a stressful life.

The poet, in the last lines, feels that we can learn a lesson from earth. It can teach us how silence is productive. The earth appears calm and quiet but is actually nurturing life. Things may die but are reborn and the cycle goes on because the earth brings forth new life. The poet appeals to all human beings to make an effort to keep inactive/ quiet. He has initiated the state of inactivity and now it is the human beings who can carry on with this idea while he makes a quiet exit.

We hope you are enjoying the Keeping Quiet Poetic Devices

Keeping Quiet Poem Chapter Nutshell

Theme

1. The urgent need for mankind to introspect, buy time to start afresh.
2. To put an end to all destructive activities, be at peace, in universal brotherhood.
3. The need to live in peaceful co-existence with nature, to stop harming animals and avoid annihilation of the human race.

Content

1. The poet counts up to 12, as a countdown to stop all activity (12 indicating the twelve markings on the clock/12 months signifying the passage of time) people all over the world stop working, bound in an `exotic’ moment as it has never happened before.
2. Fishermen don’t kill whales and the man stops extracting salt hurting his hands in the process. Men indulging in wars, chemical or otherwise, harming the environment, stop their destructive activities, don’t clean clothes and are at peace with each other, `in the shade’ as against the fiery wars where there would be no survivors.
3. The poet wants productive inactivity, not inactivity per se which would be a death-like a state. He thinks men are single-minded in the following a routine, without introspecting and gauging to see where they are going with their lives, there is a vacuum in their lives, a deep sadness as they have no time to ponder over what they want from life.
4. The Earth, he thinks can teach us the need to take a break (as it seems to hibernate in winter, seems dead but comes back to life in full force in spring) to resurrect our life and start afresh. After conveying his message, the poet feels he can pass on the mantle of responsibility to mankind who can follow his path shown by him.

 Imagery

1. Use of repetition with a difference in the first and last lines of the poem.
2. ‘put on clean clothes’ metaphorical—cleanse one’s soul, remove traces of bloodshed.
3. Image of the earth-nurturer and life-giver.