Whatever You Say, Say Nothing

Heaney’s “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing” poses many thought-provoking questions. He artfully criticizes and condemns the socio-political and cultural ideologies that restrict freedoms in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century. Through a series of literary, cultural, social, and historical allusions, Heaney comments on the counter-productiveness of ideological epigrams used as fear-mongering tactics, like the titular “whatever you say, say nothing” phrase, which—although meant to encourage co-existence through silence—is mostly used to entrap citizens of Northern Ireland and ensure their continued compliance under both unfair regimes and extremely militarized sectarian factions. While Heaney makes many political and ideological references in “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing,” his ultimate focus, and the primary theme of the poem, is the importance and power of the word—spoken and written—particularly during troubled, war-torn times.

Heaney’s focus on words as vehicles of power is first made obvious in the first section of the poem, which begins with censure of the media and other political factions who use the suffering of Northern Ireland to line their own pockets or promote unrelated messages. The Northern Ireland that Heaney describes is a place where “bad news is no longer news, // Where media-men and stringers sniff and point, / Where zoom lenses, recorders and coiled leads / Litter the hotels” (Lines 4-7). He attacks politicians and media hounds alike for their misunderstanding and exploitation of the Troubles and calls their words “jottings and analyses” (Line 9) in order to indicate the frivolity and uselessness of words spoken without true purpose. Heaney then makes a similar indictment of his own people, his neighbors and himself, who are “expertly civil tongued” (Line 17) despite the violence and bloodshed and make statements of “fake taste, the stony flavours / Of those sanctioned, old elaborate” (Lines 19-20) platitudes and other “safe” comments, such as “‘it’s disgraceful’” (Line 21) that ultimately mean nothing and say nothing.

Heaney’s indictment of himself continues. After describing the situation at hand: “‘little platoons’ are mustering—” (Line 45) and the sounds of war are “amplified and mixed in with the bangs / That shake all hearts and windows day and night” (Lines 37-38), he laments his own lack of protest: “I sit here with a pestering / Drouth for words at once both gaff and bait // To lure the tribal shoals to epigram” (Lines 47-49). At this point, Heaney directly addresses the power of the written word, its intended purpose, and also its failure in this case, to (as of yet) “draw the line through bigotry and sham / Given the right line, aere perennius” (Lines 51-52). While other lines in the poem get at the heart of the Troubles, this section of the poem—the end of the second section of “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing,” gets at the heart of Heaney’s personal feelings as an Irish Catholic from Northern Ireland and as a poet. Heaney’s power comes from his words, but he is finding that his words are restrained by the dangers of the Troubles and ring ineffective and flat. Rather than pulling together a protest in epigram or choosing “the right line” to usher in a perennial, or long-lasting, peace between warring factions, Heaney feels that he is “drouth” or thirsting for the right words that elude him like a fish that does not respond to “gaff and bait” (Line 48).

Heaney’s self-condemnation is extended and intertwined with his critical perception of his peers in Northern Ireland. Of himself, he says, “Yet for all this art and sedentary trade / I am incapable” (Lines 59-60). Heaney blames the socio-political and cultural restrictions on speech for his inability to use his art to make change. Heaney connects the “Northern reticence, the tight gag of place” (Line 61) that ensnares all Northern Irish people for his lack of effective epigram. Of his home and its people, he writes, “to be saved you only must save face / And whatever you say, you say nothing” (Lines 63-64). In this particular set of lines, Heaney makes an important distinction. While the title of the poem states, “Whatever you say, say nothing,” the phrase at this point in the poem reads: “whatever you say, you say nothing,” which makes a two-fold comment about the power of words during conflict. On one hand, the people of Northern Ireland have learned to closely guard their true opinions for reasons of safety and co-existence; everything they—or Heaney—says is an empty statement because they are too restricted for fear of their lives or livelihood to freely speak out. However, there is also an emphasis on the added you that implies personal responsibility to speak out anyway, regardless of the dangers or social repercussions.

According to Heaney, Northern Ireland during the Troubles is a “land of password, handgrip, wink and nod, / Of open minds as open as a trap” (Lines 71-72). Heaney concludes that the Irish Catholics of Northern Ireland are trapped by threat of danger and live in a constant fear for their lives should they speak freely and support the “wrong side” of the conflict. Ultimately, Heaney paints a picture of himself, and his neighbors, trapped by political machinations and militaristic violence, unable to escape—or unwilling to suffer the possible consequences of trying to escape—the “Coherent miseries” (Line 87) of the Troubles. They do not speak, or they try and fail to say anything worth saying, and “hug” their “little destiny again” for comfort (Line 88).