i. Which of these does the speaker imply through the following lines:

Question

What I want should not be 

confused 

with total inactivity. 

Life is what it is about; 

I want no truck with death. 

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. 

(Keeping Quiet)

i. Which of these does the speaker imply through the following lines: 

Life is what it is about; 

I want no truck with death. 

A. Life is meant to be lived and death should not be the focus here. 

B. Life is meant to teach us lessons and near-death experiences are not always bad. 

C. Life is full of adventures and the fear of death should not stop us from exploring them all. 

D. Life is full of many choices and thoughts about death should not be a point of consideration.

ii. Complete the given sentence appropriately. 

Based on the extract, silence would help humanity to __________.

iii. What does the speaker mean when he describes people as 'single-minded'?

A. People who only work towards understanding themselves. 

B. People who are driven by only one passion in their life. 

C. People who only focus on rushing through their life. 

D. People who can focus on only one task at a time.

iv. Justify the following statement as FALSE. 

In the given extract, the speaker is ordering readers to do certain actions.

v. Based on the extract, how do you think the speaker feels about humanity? Answer in one sentence.

vi. Observe how the lines in the poem break off at certain words. Give one reason why the poet has structured the lines in this manner.

Answer 1

i. A. Life is meant to be lived and death should not be the focus here. 

[The speaker mentions that his suggestion of being completely still should not be confused with being dead. Life is what 'it' is about implies that life is all about living. He wants nothing to do with death in his message.]

ii. 

♦ stop the collective sadness that stems from not understanding ourselves 

♦ take the space needed to heal, which we are too busy to do otherwise 

♦ lead more purposeful and meaningful lives

iii. C. People who only focus on rushing through their life. 

[The speaker mentions 'single-minded' to say that people are limited in the kind of life they live as they only rush through life to keep it moving. This option captures the contextual meaning of this term appropriately.]

iv. ♦ The statement is false because the speaker is giving suggestions while presenting his theory about how silence can help humanity. 

♦ It is false because the poet has used words like: 'If we were...', 'perhaps', 'might' 

♦ It is false because the poet is expressing his views and thoughts and not noting down action points for humanity.

v. 

♦ is concerned about/cares for humanity 

♦ wants better for humanity 

♦ wants to support humanity

vi. 

♦ The poet wants readers to pause on certain words so that his message is highlighted. 

♦ The poet wants his message to be clear and concise.