This Eulogy was delivered by, Malcolm Turnball (liberal member of Parliament) in the Australian Parliaments House of Representatives a few days after Robert Hughes death. As it was presented in the House of Representatives the audience is made of the members of parliament, family and friends and the broader Australian public. The discourse serves to pay tribute to a man who Turnball admires both as a public figure and as a family member. As he Celebrates Hughes life Turnball’s social purpose is to appear as close loving friend of Hughes whilst gaining respect from the audience. The overall register of this discourse is essentially formal, as it needs to be appropriate for the parliamentary setting and circumstances but also occasionally reflects an intimate register.
The formal register is highly reflected in the lexis used by speaker Malcolm Turnball. Turnball commonly makes used of elevated lexis such as ‘erudition, ’eloquence’, and ‘scholarship’ (lines 6-7) to fit the situational context and reflect Turnballs highly educated nature where he can make appropriate language choices. Sometimes archaic lexis is included such as rambunctiously, waywardness (lines 5,21) to relate to his older aged audience. In lines 30-33 there are more formulaic references that befit the context within the House of Representatives eg. I thank the house (line 30) and ‘trespassed on the courtesy of the house’ (line 33). The register becomes briefly more intimate when Turnball adds in touches of personal, less formal lexis that reflect the identity of Bob. In line 36 Turn ball uses an acronym WU standing for wicked uncle or line 12 where he refers to him as uncle bob in contrast to internationally recognised figure Robert Hughes. As Turnball is part of Hughes family it allows him to talk about aspects of Hughes life, where the lexis becomes less formal although highly respectful and accompanied by humour such as line 21 where Turnball mentions ‘masculine failings including untidiness and waywardness.
In Turnballs effort to honour and celebrate the life of Hughes he makes use of numerous metaphors and irony throughout his eulogy. Turnball states in line 26-27 that Lucy, Turnball wife ‘always gave Bob free rein’. He could do not wrong all other men in her life. This metaphor refers to horse riding and serving the army that are almost archaic therefore likely to resonate with an older audience. In line
