Paul_Keating_Speech

Paul Keating – Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier [1993] Paul Keating’s Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier functions as a celebration and reinvention of the Australian Identity. Pearson’s aim is clear –not glorify war, but celebrate those who served for Australia. The sustained metaphor of the Unknown Soldier is established early in the speech. ‘We do not know this Australian’s name//we do not know his age//we do not know who loved him or whom he loved’. The use of anaphora reinforces the anonymity and engages the audience. It also functions to be inclusive, with the repetition of ‘we’, highlighting the Unknown Australian Soldier as being a gross generalization of what it means to be Australian. Pearson brings to the forefront the qulaities of ‘hardship’, ‘courage’ and ‘resilient’ as being quintessentially Australian. The metaphor ‘tide of events’ looks to symbolize the unstoppable nature of change. The values of ‘courage’, ‘resilient’, ‘endure hardship’ are all critiqued, and are renowned for being Australian and are questioned as to whether they are relevant in todays society. The statistics highlight the scale of the loss. The descriptions of ‘a mad, brutal, awful struggle’ are powerful and emotive. Bluntness puts emphasis on the spirit by which it was fought, not the battle. Inclusive ‘all’ commemoration of the every-man being not ordinary but extraordinary. Paul Keating – Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier [1993] Paul Keating’s Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier functions as a celebration and reinvention of the Australian Identity. Pearson’s aim is clear –not glorify war, but celebrate those who served for Australia. The sustained metaphor of the Unknown Soldier is established early in the speech. ‘We do not know this Australian’s name//we do not know his age//we do not know who loved him or whom he loved’. The use of anaphora reinforces the anonymity and engages the audience. It also functions to be inclusive, with the repetition of ‘we’, highlighting the Unknown Australian Soldier as being a gross generalization of what it means to be Australian. Pearson brings to the forefront the qulaities of ‘hardship’, ‘courage’ and ‘resilient’ as being quintessentially Australian. The metaphor ‘tide of events’ looks to symbolize the unstoppable nature of change. The values of ‘courage’, ‘resilient’, ‘endure hardship’ are all critiqued, and are renowned for being Australian and are questioned as to whether they are relevant in todays society. The statistics highlight the scale of the loss. The descriptions of ‘a mad, brutal, awful struggle’ are powerful and emotive. Bluntness puts emphasis on the spirit by which it was fought, not the battle. Inclusive ‘all’ commemoration of the every-man being not ordinary but extraordinary.