Seamus Heaney – The Value Linked to Contrariness in Irish Scenarios

Seamus Heaney (1939–2013), one of the most significant voices in modern poetry and a Nobel Laureate in Literature, often explored the deep complexities and contradictions embedded within Irish culture, politics, and personal identity.

Central to his work is the idea of contrariness — the existence of opposing forces in tension — which he treats not merely as conflict, but as a source of profound poetic value and insight.

Rather than trying to resolve these contradictions, Heaney embraces them, using them to reveal the layered realities of Irish life, and to explore the burden and beauty of belonging. This exploration is evident in multiple poems, notably Digging, The Tollund Man, and Whatever You Say Say Nothing, among others.

Understanding Contrariness in Heaney’s Irish Landscape

Contrariness in Heaney’s poetry is rooted in the Irish experience, shaped by:

• Colonial history and nationalist struggle

• Sectarian violence during the Troubles

• Tensions between rural tradition and modern identity

• Language choices (Irish vs. English)

• Religious legacy versus secular life

• The individual’s role within the community

Heaney does not present these tensions as problems to be solved. Instead, he elevates them as part of the moral and imaginative framework of Irish identity. The contradictions become poetic ground from which meaning emerges.

1. Digging (from Death of a Naturalist, 1966)

Overview

“Digging” is both a personal and cultural declaration. It is Heaney’s first poem in his first published collection — a poem of artistic self-definition.

Contrariness Present in the Poem

• Generational Gap: Heaney compares his profession of writing with the manual labour of his father and grandfather:

“My father, digging. I look down / Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds / Bends low, comes up twenty years away.”

• Physical vs. Intellectual Labour: The spade symbolizes physical work, while the pen represents literary creation:

“Between my finger and my thumb / The squat pen rests. I’ll dig with it.”

• Loyalty vs. Independence: Heaney acknowledges his deep respect for his roots while choosing a different path. There’s no dismissal of the past — rather, an attempt to reframe it through poetry.

Value Derived from Contrariness

The poem generates value by reconciling the old with the new — using the metaphor of “digging” as both literal and metaphorical. The pen becomes the modern-day spade. Through this metaphor, Heaney constructs a lineage of purpose, finding continuity through contrast.

2. The Tollund Man (from Wintering Out, 1972)

Overview

“The Tollund Man” introduces myth, archaeology, and history into Heaney’s poetic exploration of violence in Northern Ireland. He draws a parallel between the bog bodies of Denmark and the victims of Irish sectarian killings.

Contrariness Present in the Poem

• Ancient Ritual vs. Modern Conflict: Heaney links the sacrificial violence of Iron Age Europe with contemporary killings in Ireland:

“Some day I will go to Aarhus / To see his peat-brown head.”

• Past and Present Violence: The Iron Age body is better preserved than the truth of modern political deaths. This creates a haunting contrast:

“Out there in Jutland / In the old man-killing parishes / I will feel lost, / Unhappy and at home.”

• Distance vs. Proximity: The Danish setting allows Heaney to approach the Irish conflict obliquely. This geographical and psychological distance becomes a lens of understanding.

Value Derived from Contrariness

Heaney’s use of myth does not provide solace but deepens the complexity of his message. The contrariness here is not just narrative — it is ethical.

By drawing such a parallel, he elevates Irish violence to a tragic, almost ritual level, inviting readers to think historically and spiritually about contemporary brutality.

3. Whatever You Say Say Nothing (from North, 1975)

Overview

In this poem, Heaney grapples directly with the impossibility of speaking honestly in a politically charged environment. The very title is an Irish phrase encapsulating the culture of fear and repression in Northern Ireland.

Contrariness Present in the Poem

• Silence vs. Expression: The societal pressure to remain silent competes with the poet’s instinct to speak:

“The famous / Northern reticence, the tight gag of place / And times…”

• Personal Ethics vs. Political Reality: Heaney wants to speak, yet recognizes the cost of speaking. This creates a paralyzing poetic space:

“Religion’s never mentioned here, of course.”

• Role of the Artist: Should the poet be a witness or remain neutral? Should poetry be political or aesthetic?

Value Derived from Contrariness

The poem draws power from its refusal to simplify. Heaney values the difficulty of truth-telling in a conflicted society. Here, contrariness becomes a moral stance: poetry’s job is not to offer slogans but to expose the fractures within speech itself. The resulting ambiguity is the poem’s strength.

4. Contrariness as Irish Inheritance

Contrariness is not unique to Heaney, but in his hands, it becomes an organizing principle of Irish consciousness. Irish culture — shaped by colonization, civil war, political division, and religious heritage — is ripe with contradiction. Heaney’s poetic approach is to:

• Reflect rather than resolve

• Complicate rather than clarify

• Bear witness rather than judge

Heaney’s embrace of contrariness gives voice to a people who have historically lived “between,” whether between empires, religions, languages, or ideologies.

5. Other Examples in Heaney’s Oeuvre

A. North (1975)

• Heaney’s collection North is built around symbolic binaries — north/south, past/present, myth/reality.

• The poem Punishment also addresses guilt, complicity, and ethical contrariness:

“I who have stood dumb / when your betraying sisters, / cauled in tar, / wept by the railings.”

B. Requiem for the Croppies

• The poem reflects on the failed 1798 Irish Rebellion — combining the romanticism of revolution with the tragic reality of defeat.

“The pockets of our greatcoats full of barley...”

Contrariness between reverence and horror is at the heart of this elegy.

6. Language as Contrariness

Heaney’s language choice — writing in English — is itself a contradiction. Though the colonizer’s tongue, he uses it to articulate Irish experience and resistance. This linguistic tension is a form of postcolonial contrariness that adds depth and richness to his poetry.

Conclusion: Contrariness as a Poetic and Moral Engine

In the poetry of Seamus Heaney, contrariness is not a failure of clarity but a means of reaching complexity. From familial loyalty to political silence, from ancient ritual to modern violence, Heaney shows that truth in Irish life is rarely single-stranded.

The poems Digging, The Tollund Man, and Whatever You Say Say Nothing reveal how these tensions can yield not despair, but insight — not division, but reflection.

Heaney’s greatest poetic contribution may well be this: he taught us that dwelling in contradiction is not evasion, but courage. The value of contrariness is the value of remaining human in a fractured world — attentive, questioning, and alive to all that resists simple resolution.