The Silence of Irish Literature

Throughout the annuals of Irish history, the themes of the country's literature mirror the impact of the social environment of that time. During the time of famine and political restraint, it was the voice within the literary community that successfully recorded the struggles and elations of the Irish people. Many themes are expressed during these turbulent times in Ireland, but none was as devastating as the silencing of the Irish voice during the occupation by England.

With the overtaking of Ireland by the English and Scottish planters in the 1550's, Ireland's voice quieted over the centuries due to disregard and brutality by the British Empire. This lack of voice is present in Brian Friel's play, Translations. One of the supporting characters, Sarah Johnny Sally, found a difficulty in speaking, and speaks little through the play. Friel uses the character to embody the attitude of Ireland during the centuries under the thumb of England. Sarah's lack of speech symbolizes the country's inability to rebel against the English invasion effectively and speak up as a united country, just as Sarah found it difficult to speak for herself. In the time of the play, August 1833, Ireland had been under English rule for almost three hundred years, and within the confines of that time, Ireland unsuccessfully revolted against them. For Friel, Sarah is the personification of the frustrations and anger Ireland felt against the English. Sarah was unable to stand up for herself, as a majority of Ireland felt it could not stand up against the English. Her sweet simplicity illuminates how the sentiments of Ireland were. The people of Ireland wanted to be as they were, and not be forced into another way of life. Friel demonstrates this poignantly with Sarah's inability to speak English. Uncomfortable with the new language, Sarah embodies the discord felt by many Irish people. As she was apprehensive of the language, Ireland was apprehensive of this sudden overtaking, yet both found it difficult to rise up and speak against what was happening around them.

In contract to Friel's play, W.B Yeats gives Ireland a voice in the body of an old woman. In Cathleen Ni Houlihan, Ireland is personified by the visit of an old woman, who has walked across the entire country, meeting strangers. The old woman, later addressed as Cathleen Ni Houlihan, is reacquainting herself with her own country. The sense of pride for country is lost in the degradation of the plantation, but it is Cathleen who reminds her children of Ireland what they must do. "They that have red cheeks will have pale cheeks for my sake, and for all that, they will think they are well paid." (Yeats, 601) Cathleen represents the voice of Ireland finally being discovered, and the pride of country being restored.

However, pride of country was lost to Ireland for a brief period of time. Before the Independence of Ireland from British rule, a vast majority of natives were immigrating to America, in search of a better life. There was little hope left in Ireland, as many of the native sons and daughters fled the country which they found archaic and oppressed. In Mairtin O Caidhain's story, The Road to Brightcity, O Caidhain explores the notion of disillusion with country and the inability to speak. The conflicting emotions of the mother and her eldest daughter exemplify the inner struggles Ireland endured. The daughter has lost faith in the country she grew up in, and chooses to move to America to live out her dreams. Her lack of belief and loss of faith in Ireland typifies the opinion of many at that time. The crops were failing and people were starving. The economy was suffering and the British were doing nothing to help. Because of this, O Caidhain uses the youth of Ireland as a tool to display the growing anxiety for those living in Ireland.

The mother of the story epitomizes the growing loss of speech. Her inability to divulge her emotions, her fears, and her love for her daughter is indicative of the sentiment in Ireland during this period. The loss of a daughter mirrors the loss of a country. The pain the country felt as the people watched their freedoms being denied is comparable to the pain a mother feels as her first born child is leaving. It is in this moment that the mother and the country both have difficulty finding the words to express their dismay.

The loss of voice isn't limited to those who reside in Ireland, but those who had traveled abroad as well. In George Moore's Home Sickness, the main character Bryden discovers that not only did he not have a voice, but he doesn't have a home either. Throughout the story, Bryden finds difficulty in determining the words to express his inner emotions, just as Ireland had difficulty express their place as a nation. Bryden embodies the fracturing of a nation. On one hand, he is a native Irishman, who finds his love of the nation again in the eyes of Margaret. On the other, he is a stranger in a strange land, having immigrated to America and forgotten his native tongue; he finds that he is unable to communicate with the very people he sprung from. This lack of identity is prevalent in Irish history and literature, and allows the idea of a country literally losing the ability to speak for itself.

Yeats again demonstrates the Irish voice in his poem Easter, 1916. "No, no, not night but death; / Was it needless death after all? / For England may keep faith / For all that is done is said." (Yeats, 181-2) In these few lines, Yeats discusses how voices have been silenced as they spoke up against England. He points out how despite best efforts to stand against the Empire, voices that have been loud can and will be silenced. His inspiration for this poem, the Easter Rising of 1916, demonstrates how Ireland, even in a modern age, was still struggling to find a voice that was solidified and united.

It was Ireland's struggle to regain their independence from England that truly formed the breadth and depth of the Irish literature. The centuries long conflict emitted such passionate pieces that truly captured the emotions of the time. These emotions, the hardship endured, the centuries of humiliation and dire situations have filtered into the words of the Irish authors. From their pages, the people of Ireland were allowed to voice their anguish, their despair, their hopes and their dreams.

Translations, Brian Friel

Cathleen Ni Houlihan, W.B. Yeats

Home Sickness, George Moore

Easter, 1916, W.B. Yeats

The Road to Brightcity, Mairtin O Caidhain