Paul Keating’s eulogy in the Funeral Service of the Unknown Soldier aimed to commemorate all those who died in war for Australia through the symbolic Unknown soldier and examines what Australia has lost and gained in war.
Keating utilises anaphora in the first paragraph “we do not know…” to establish a sombre tone. The Unknown Soldier becomes symbolic of the ANZAC spirit of mateship, courage and bravery as well as all Australians who serve in war, which is evident through the paradox of “he is all of them. And he is one of use”. He also uses binary opposites such as “city or the bush” and “married or single” to establish links between this soldier and all Australians, ensuring they feel connected to the soldier and remember the idea of his sacrifice for us. He is able to create a personal tone through the use of inclusive language “us” or “we” throughout the speech which often stir patriotism and shared remembrance. His use of asyndeton and emotive language in the successive adjectives “mad, brutal, awful struggle” describes the horrors of war while also stressing the futility of it. Repetition of “one of the “complimented by a statistic establishes the soldier as representing all those who have served in war.
Keating is able to successful in not glorifying war nor belittling it through the juxtaposition of images of “death”, “horror” and “incompetence” with the more patriotic images of “courage”, “resilience” and “mateship”. .” He then describes WWII, using inversion, saying, “It was a lesson about ordinary people- and the lesson was that they were not ordinary.” In this way Keating shifts the focus of the war effort away from the “generals” and the sweeping military victories” to the everyday people who played a part in the war, thus raising the idea that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Through the paradoxical statement, “he is all of them. And he is one of us”, he reinforces that Australian people can benefit from