{"id":516172,"date":"2023-01-23T13:11:38","date_gmt":"2023-01-23T06:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thailandfoundation.or.th\/?post_type=culture_heritage&p=516172"},"modified":"2025-05-15T18:37:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T11:37:32","slug":"thai-poetry-work-of-art-on-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thailandfoundation.or.th\/th\/thai-poetry-work-of-art-on-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Thai Poetry: Work of Art on Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Thais are creative and artistic in our nature. We seek joy and pleasure in aesthetic elements of everyday life whether the food we prepare and embellish with the Thai culinary art, the traditional songs and dances we perform, the sports like muay Thai with fatally beautiful moves and postures, the Thai silk with stunning patterns, and the way we speak our mother tongue. The rich Thai language is an excellent tool for carving the art of communication in a sweet and pleasant form of rhymes. Unlike many other languages in which rhymes are reserved for serious written pieces, the Thai language with 22 vowel sounds, five tones, four tone marks, and 44 consonants, allows Thai speakers to use rhymes in colloquial speech as comfortably as in written language, fostering the rich poetic culture of Thailand that transcends rhyming patterns.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Thai poetry, referred to in Thai as \u201croy krong<\/em>\u201d (\u0e23\u0e49\u0e2d\u0e22\u0e01\u0e23\u0e2d\u0e07) or verse as opposed to prose or \u201croy kaew<\/em>\u201d (\u0e23\u0e49\u0e2d\u0e22\u0e41\u0e01\u0e49\u0e27), is an extensive collection of complex meters called \u201cChanthalak<\/em>\u201d (\u0e09\u0e31\u0e19\u0e17\u0e25\u0e31\u0e01\u0e29\u0e13\u0e4c) which can be customized and embellished with myriads of techniques and devices to sound as melodious or intense as the imagination and ability of the author allows. Poetry is, therefore, a work of art on paper that offers amusement, spiritual uplifting, and a perfect reflection of the beauty of the Thai language.<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. <\/u>The Poetic Culture<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    To get a glimpse of what the Thai poetry sounds like, read the following excerpt and notice the rhyming pattern in bold:<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Respect to teachers has been paid<\/strong>,\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 a start be made<\/strong> on this old saga<\/strong>,<\/span><\/p>\n

    Of when His Majesty King Phanwasa<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 at Ayutthaya<\/strong> did power wield<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Paramount throughout the world<\/strong>,\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 his writ unfurled<\/strong> far afield<\/strong>,<\/span><\/p>\n

    A source of joy, like heaven revealed<\/strong>,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 a shield<\/strong> and shelter of the commonality<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Dependencies diverse within his power<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0did cower<\/strong> in awe of such authority<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    All lands around the sacred city<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 in humility <\/strong>clasped hands, hands bowed<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The sovereign holder of the royal wealth<\/strong>,\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0perfect in health<\/strong>, with happiness endowed<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The Royal Virtues duly avowed<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The common crowd<\/strong> as one was joyful.<\/span><\/p>\n

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    This roy krong<\/em>, composed in the form of Klon Paed<\/em> (\u0e01\u0e25\u0e2d\u0e19\u0e41\u0e1b\u0e14), is part of a Thai classic called the Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen<\/em> (\u0e02\u0e38\u0e19\u0e0a\u0e49\u0e32\u0e07\u0e02\u0e38\u0e19\u0e41\u0e1c\u0e19). Historian Chris Baker and Professor Pasuk Phonpaichit translated this epic of love, tragedy and war into English while preserving the rhyming characteristic of the Thai poetry. Winner of the Becker Prize, this translation is hailed as one of the best translated literature of the Southeast Asia. Despite of such success, nothing can compare to savoring its literary flavor in the original language.<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen (\u0e02\u0e38\u0e19\u0e0a\u0e49\u0e32\u0e07\u0e02\u0e38\u0e19\u0e41\u0e1c\u0e19)<\/span><\/p>\n

    (Photo credit: silpa-mag<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

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    The versatility of Thai poetry<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    As we have learned that the Thai poetry is an effective language tool for all occasions, for each of the following usages of the poetry, you will find different examples of roy krongs <\/em>and their summarized translation to show how Thai rhyming meters have served the Thai society from past to present.<\/span><\/p>\n

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