Values of Lilit Akhra Silapin as a Eulogy of King Rama IX

Abstract

This article aims to study Lilit Akhra Silapin (Lilit of the Supreme Artist) as a eulogy and its literary values. The examination revealed that the Lilit is a eulogy of King Rama IX, composed of 545 stanzas, in which khlong alternate with rai. As a eulogy, His Majesty’s remarkable aptitude is presented by enumerating the titles of each of his works and delicately describing his artistic genius in various fields of art, highlighting image of the supreme artist and of the royal patron who supports various forms of art to elevate the quality of life of his people. Poetic devices such as melodious and implicative alliteration, simile, metaphor and metonymy are exhibited to emphasize the genius of this remarkably talented monarch. Lilit Akhra Silapin celebrates the actual accomplishments of His Majesty, unlike archaic lilit that depict the image of a divine king, and thus the work shows the development of the eulogy as a form of literature.