How to Write a Eulogy?

"Our death is not an end if we can live on in our children and the younger generation. For they are us, our bodies are only wilted leaves on the tree of life." - Albert Einstein

A personalized speech that is delivered at a funeral as a testimonial to the life of the deceased is known as a eulogy. The speech may be rendered by a close friend or a dear and near relative of the person who has expired. You could say, a eulogy is one of the ways to share fond memories of the deceased with those present at the funeral service. In case, you are not able to read the eulogy yourself, you can ask one of your friends or a close relative to read it for you. However, when you write the eulogy, remember it is your way of honoring your loved one. Hence, what you say is more important than how you say.

Different Themes to Present a Eulogy

There are several themes and types of eulogy presentation. Here are a few styles of writing a eulogy.

Share Memories

One of the styles of presenting a eulogy is by sharing your memories about the deceased person. You can mention your personal memories. Writing this type of eulogy is easy. However, rendering it could be difficult because your emotions would be high on that day because you are exposing the pain of losing a loved one.

Chronological Eulogy

This is a type of eulogy, where you could talk about the achievements of the deceased. You can mention a few anecdotes that remind you of the person who has passed away. This is, otherwise, known as factual eulogy. Here, you are distancing yourself from the grief.

The other types of eulogy include tribute, religious themes, musical themes where you combine the favorite music of the deceased with words and so on.

General Tips to Write a Eulogy

At the time of loss of someone dear and special, writing an eulogy requires a lot courage and mental strength. More than writing a eulogy, the emotions tend to play high when you have to read it out at the funeral. Here are a few tips to write a good eulogy.

Before you start writing a eulogy, you should know for whom you are writing. You could write on behalf of your friend, relative or a colleague. If you are writing and reading the eulogy on behalf of someone close to the deceased, you should tell the listeners how you are related to the person who passed away.

When writing, you should time your eulogy. That is you should know the duration for your eulogy. You could ask guidance from a person who is organizing the funeral service.

Always use conversational tone in your eulogy. Give a brief introduction about yourself and how you know the deceased. After introducing yourself, you can talk about your fond memories and the experiences you shared with the person who passed away. A eulogy could be anything that speaks the truth in the form of anecdotes, songs or poetry.

"He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery