Whatever You Say, Say Nothing

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1975

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Background

Literary Context

As a Postmodern poet, there are certain elements of Heaney’s poems that are inspired primarily by the ideals of Postmodernism; this means that, often, Heaney’s poems pull purposefully away from traditional forms or traditional uses of form and meter. However, “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing” is more typical in its use of form; quatrains are used throughout the poem, and rhyme scheme is employed consistently throughout, marked by end rhymes that follow an alternating pattern. For example, the rhyme scheme of section I of the poem is: abab cdcd efef ghgh ijij klml. This basic rhyme scheme repeats itself in each section of the poem.

Heaney’s use of quatrains and rhyme in “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing,” references a literary allusion made within section II of the poem: “To lure the tribal shoals to epigram / And order. I believe any of us / Could draw the line through bigotry and sham” (Lines 49-51). In this section of the poem, Heaney refers to the power of words, worked into epigrams, to inspire and bring together tribes. The word “epigram” can have several meanings, but ultimately, an “epigram” is, most recognizably, a clever saying that uses wit to motivate its audience to believe in and follow an expressed viewpoint or idea. “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing,” is working as an extended epigram itself—using wit, clever allusions, and rhyme to try to espouse an idea to a group of people torn into “tribal shoals” by politics and religion.

The use of rhyming quatrains in the poem, or stanzas arranged in groups of four lines, is another reference to the epigram itself as a mode of poetic discourse. (Classically, epigrams are written in quatrains.) Heaney’s use of quatrains further extends his purpose in writing “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing” by allowing for the ultimate repurposing of the “message” in the poem’s title, (“Whatever You Say, Say Nothing”) which is itself part of a political epigram meant to influence how people behave and use their words. Heaney’s poem turns the epigram on its head; he repurposes the very idea of a literary and political epigram by writing a poem about using words to bring people together in open dialogue, rather than using words as a threat against those who would speak out.

Ideological Context

Ideology and literary context work together within Heaney’s work, and particularly in “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing,” the two concepts weave together to fulfill the primary purpose of Heaney’s poetry. Heaney uses literary allusions and methods, often classical in scope (such as the epigrammatic mode) to back specific political and social ideologies.

For Heaney, an Irish Catholic growing up and coming of age in Northern Ireland prior to and during the Troubles, ideology is a natural part of the writing process. Although Heaney seems to remain fairly moderate in his political espousals, he does call for very specific ideals in his poetry. In “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing,” Heaney calls for the freedom to speak openly, without threat of retaliation. He speaks out in defense of the Irish Catholics for their minority status in their own country and also defends the dignity of all Northern Irish people who live in a place that is being destroyed by faction mentality. Ideologically, Heaney’s final, rallying cry in “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing,” calls loudly for the power of words, written and spoken, and their importance within the socio-political sphere; Heaney refutes, in every section of the poem, the notion that the “right way” to solve political disagreements is to encourage people to “say nothing.”