Remembrance Day Speech Analysis

This speech was delivered on the 11th of November 1993, Remembrance Day, making it a historical, political and social address. This speech was widely televised and had a wide reach due to the event of commemorating the lost lives of the many brave souls of the Great War. The Prime Minister’s, Paul Keating, address had many purposes; the eulogy of the “Unknown Australian soldier” being the main one. This was evident by the structure of the speech and the use of strong emotive language. The tone of the speech was very formal and patriotic, which was appropriate to the circumstances at the time. He started off with the use of strong inclusive language and the repetition of the phrase “we do not know”. This helped attract the attention of the audience, the Australian nation young and old, by forming a connection between the Prime Minister and them despite the difference in their hierarchy. The repetition also built the sense of ambiguity and curiosity towards the anonymous soldier and his background. Also, the use of opposites, “we do not know who loved him or whom he loved,” represented all the possible facts about the Unknown Soldier.

The many large numbers were also used to allow the audience to acknowledge the severity of war and recognize the efforts of everyone who stood up for their country and land. The third paragraph is constructed of only two powerful sentences, “He is all of them. And he is one of us.” This created the sense of unity and the honour of the relation of the audience to the