Whatever You Say, Say Nothing

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1975

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

Although Heaney often writes poems that eschew or repurpose traditional uses of form and meter, “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing” is fairly traditional in its use of formal restraints. The poem is written in quatrains, or sets of four lines, and Heaney uses a consistent rhyme scheme throughout the piece that relies on end rhymes placed in an alternating pattern, line-by-line. As discussed earlier in this guide, quatrains are commonly featured in epigrams, and some notion of epigrammatic format is being purposefully employed by Heaney in order to subvert the meaning of the poem’s epigrammatic title: “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing.”

This subversion is typical for Heaney, a Postmodernist who is familiar with traditional form but prefers to twist it in order to make intelligent criticism of particular concepts. The poem’s rhyme scheme maintains this epigrammatic format throughout; however, the sections themselves are not consistent in length, which is a clear step away from formal restraint. Sections I and III maintain a consistent, matching length of 24 lines, arranged in six quatrains. Section II strays and becomes longer with 28 lines, arranged in seven quatrains, and most notably of all, the concluding section pulls up short with only 12 lines, arranged in three quatrains. The unevenness of lengths is perhaps representative of the uneven, inequitable nature of life in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and the ragged destruction the war wages upon the populace.

Allusion

Heaney employs a variety of literary, historical, and cultural allusions in “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing.” Allusions to literary forms, such as epigrams, as well as classical literature and writers—the Trojan horse and the Horace quote, “aere perennius”—appear frequently within the text in order to strengthen Heaney’s rhetorical refutation of the avoidant, reticent advice to “whatever you say, you nothing.” Heaney’s use of allusion goes beyond historical and literary references though; he also references movies, posters, local sayings, and military technologies. In fact, Heaney’s approach to this poem is especially Postmodern in its reliance upon familiar references. These allusions effectively give the reader a sense of place, while also acting as clever disguises through which Heaney is able to make powerfully scathing comments about the socio-political and culturally sectarian ideologies of Troubles-era Northern Ireland, like “O land of password, handgrip, wink and nod, / Of open minds as open as a trap” (Lines 71-72) and “Northern reticence, the tight gag of place…. / Where to be saved you only must save face” (Lines 61-63). Heaney cleverly indicts almost every party present in Northern Ireland, including his own, by condemning the use of suggested “gag orders” and purposeful avoidance of protest in order to merely “save face.”

Enjambment

Many lines in this poem are enjambed, meaning that sentences or thoughts find culmination beyond the end of a line. For example, section I of “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing,” consists of only two complete sentences; the first sentence is not end-stopped with a period (punctuated at the end of a line) until the sixth stanza, and the second sentence follows directly after that, making 22 of the first 24 lines of the poem enjambed or, at the very least, parts of ongoing, unfinished sentences. The second and third sections are not as enjambed; about one line per stanza is end-stopped with a period, with many commas and colons used in between, but the enjambment returns strongly again towards the end of the piece, with only four lines being end-stopped at all, (including periods, colons, and commas) and only two ending in periods.

Heaney’s use of enjambment raises the stakes of the poem by creating a sense of momentum, tension, and urgency. Because “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing,” is trying urgently to say something with power, to speak out against the culturally and politically imposed tensions tamping down free speech in Northern Ireland, Heaney’s words stream by, gaining power by use of tension, to motivate others to end their silence and speak out, to bring an end to the tyranny of enforced silence by threat of violence and retaliation.