Register in Kham Yat Poetry

Abstract

            Naowarat Pongpaiboon, a national artist, composed Kham Yat poetry by using 5 main categories of register which are royal terms of reverence, musician’s language, Buddhist vocabulary, Thai architectural terminology and jewel terms. The application of register can be divided into 2 patterns; 1) one register per one poem and 2) various registers per one poem. Naowarat chooses register intentionally to communicate his idea, imagery and emotion from his poetry to the receiver. In this vein, register utilization represents the genius of the poet and also the relationship between the poet’s background and his work.