The Dynamics of Panegyric Poetry in Honour of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great in the Dimension of the Concept of the King

Abstract

This article aims to investigate the dynamics of 40 panegyric poetries written in honour of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great in the dimension of the concept of the king by employing the concept of the king in the Thai socio-cultural context as a conceptual framework for the study. The research methods include data collection, data analysis and summarizing the results. The findings reveal that in comparison with Thai panegyric literature in the past that has 4 concepts of the King which are 1) the king of deity, 2) the virtuous king, 3) the king is a Buddha and Bodhisattva and 4) the great emperor, the panegyric poetry composed in honour of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great demonstrates the changing concepts of the king in nine aspects which are 1) the earthly deity, 2) the virtuous king who is kind to the poor and who is the patron of all religions, 3) the great emperor who possesses a new kind of greatness and rules with a great queen, 4) Mahajanaka of the nation, 5) the teacher of the nation,
6) the father of the nation, 7) the king with development projects, 8) the king of agriculture and 9) the king of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy. These concepts show that the revered status of the king is now portrayed as that of an ordinary human being who has a close relationship with his subjects and is dedicated to the development of the country through his effort and wisdom. The panegyric poetry in honour of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great presents the concepts of the king that are unique to His Majesty in relation to His Majesty’s royal duties and the social and cultural context of today’s globalized world.