Sunthorn
Phu Day
26th June
Click
here
to see how students at Sriwittayapaknam School in Samut Prakan
celebrated Sunthorn Phu Day.
For his Bicentennial
in 1986, Sunthorn Phu (1786 -1855) was honoured by UNESCO as a
great man as well as Thailand people's poet. The year also witnessed
a nationwide celebration. A new edition of his works, translations,
and biographical studies were published. Besides, the cultural
fairs and entertainment attested to the esteem in which the poet
was held.
However, little
was actually done for the critical understanding of the Bicentennial
Poet. First, the usual English spelling of his name was arbitrarily
changed to Sunthon. Then, arguments by critics centered around
such peripheral matters as his ancestry, his birth place, the
dates of his compositions, etc. Lack of evidence was writ large
on their opinions. Soon afterwards, one compromise after another
was made among the critics. In the case of Sunthorn Phu's parentage,
for example, it was eventually agreed that his father was a native
of Rayong, while his mother came from Phetchaburi. Hopefully,
that would leave Sunthorn Phu himself a native of Bangkok, or
of Them Buri, to be exact.
As a true Buddhist,
Sunthorn Phu has left no trace of himself. The only place that
may be associated with him is a temple in Bangkok called Wat Thepthidaram
in which he spent the last few years of his long monkhood from
about 1840. While it is almost impossible to read the poet's works
as an illustration of his life, it is actually misleading to extract
the poet's life from his works. He was a fictionalist who could
journey a long way from a small starting point. Did not he write
one of his poems in his son's name? Another poem which was taken
from his canon and ascribed to his student may one day be reinstated.
And other works of Sunthorn Phu may be discovered, if old manuscripts
are not destroyed or sold to ignorant people the way they are
now.
Sunthorn Phu
criticism was for a long time influenced by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab's
brief biography of the poet, published in 1922. This piece of
writing was evidently derived from an unpublished Life of Sunthon
Phu by Phraya Pariyatithammathada. The main tenets of Prince Damrong's
criticism had the poet pinned down as a commoner who could not
have received a very good education. His verse, even though melodious
and partaking of common speech, was simply "market verse."
Besides, Sunthorn Phu had two bad flaws, namely, drunkenness and
amorousness. To these was added the unusual pride and arrogance
which caused him to offend the future King Rama III and thus earned
his "dark period" during that reign. This theory of
the "dark period" of Sunthorn Phu was a double-edged
knife: While it made the poet appear in a bad light, it also hurt
King Rama III's reputation for having done the "people's
poet" an ill turn. Two later critics, Chant Khumvilai and
Prince Chand Chirayu Rajani, tried to deny some, if not all, of
these charges against the poet. Especially, Prince Chand's theory
was diametrically opposed to that of Prin Damrong. Accordingly,
two myths of Sunthorn Phu have been created. However,Prince Chand
thought that he was a world-class bard like Chaucer or Shakespeare.
At that time, only Prince Prem Purachatra believed in making Sunthorn
Phu known to the world through translations.
The present
state of Sunthorn Phu criticism is very insecure. Any date or
event given of the poet's life and works is necessarily compounded
of critics's opinions. Even Prince Damrong's essay which serves
as an introduction to every edition of Sunthorn Phu, is weighted
down by additional notes of conjectural nature by later editors.
It may be well
to treat Sunthorn Phu as the Poet of Four Reigns, from Rama I
to Rama IV, and see his career as a progression.
Information
from "The Story of Phra Abhai Mani" by H.H. Prince Prem
Purachatra
|
Over two hundred years
ago, on June 26, 1786, the wife of a humble Rayong divine then
living in Ban gkok gave birth to a baby boy. In due course, the
little boy was given the name of Phu. When he grew up, his genius
as a poet was quickly recognised, and he won the esteem of kings
and commoners alike. Finally, after many vicissitudes in the course
of a colourful career, he attained the distinction of Poet Laureate
and was created Phra Sunthorn Voharn. Today, Sunthorn Phu is accepted
as one of the greatest poets Thailand ever produced, and he holds
his place among theleading poets of the world.
Sunthorn Phu was born
in the fifth year of the reign of King Rama I. His father was
a native of Muang Klaeng, a township in the province of Rayong,
but his married life was spent in Bangkok. Soon after young Phu
was born, his parents divorced. His father went back to Muang
Klaeng and took holy orders there. His mother married again and
later became the wet-nurse of a princess in the royal palace.
Young Phu stayed with his mother and thus spent his early years
in the palace.
Like the youth of his
time, the future poet received standard education in a monastry
now known as Wat Sri Sudaram, situated at Klong Bangkok Noi. Leaving
school, he obtained the post of a clerk in the government service.
But the only work that was congenial to him was the writing of
verse. In this he was adept even as a mere boy. Before he came
of age, he wrote a long poem based on the story of Khobutra which,
however, was left unfinished. Nevertheless, the work showed promise
of a genius that was later to attain full development.
It was about this time
that the youthful poet fell in love with one of the ladies of
the palace whose name was Chan, a woman who had considerable influence
on his work. But in those days it was a heinous offence to love
one of the palace ladies, and as a consequence of his romantic
folly, both he and his mistress were put in prison. On their release
in 1806, Suthorn Phu left the capital, accompanied by two disciples,
to pay a visit to his father whom he had not seen since he was
a little boy. On his way, he wrote his first great poem Nirat
Muang Klaeng, in which he described the journey and addressed
many tender lines to his lady love.
Suthorn Phu's original
intention was to join his father and enter the monkhood for a
term. But soon after he arrived at Muang Klaeng he fell seriously
ill with fever, and had to return to Bangkok as soon as he recovered.
He was with his father for only two months, and had been away
from the capital for three. His return saw a happy ending to his
love affair. He married his Chan, and a son was duly born to them.
The course of true
love, however, did not run smooth. The young poet became too fond
of the bottle, and this caused frequent quarrels between him and
his wife. It ended with her finally leaving him for another man,
but not before he had immortalised her name in many of his works.
Suthorn Phu soon made
his name as a court poet of exceptional merit. At the age of twenty-one,
he accompanied one of the young pri nces to the shrine of
Phra Buddha Bat, and wrote a beautiful poem called Nirat Phra
Bat, in which he described his experiences and referred to the
differences that had arisen between him and his wife.
In 1809, King Rama
I died and King Rama II succeeded to the throne. King Rama II
was himself a poet of genius, and he saw in Sunthorn Phu a kindred
spirit. Soon after his accession, therefore, His Majesty gave
the young poet a position at court. Sunthorn Phu quickly proved
his worth. When the King was writing his Ramakien, he often consulted
the port on different points connected with versification and
always found him with a ready answer. His Majesty was therefore
very pleased with him and created him Khun Sunthorn Voharn and
kept him near his person whenever he was writing.
Unfortunately, however,
Sunthorn Phu could not leave off drinking, and this soon got him
into trouble. One day, when he was drunk, he had a quarrel with
his mother. One of his uncles tried to intervene, and the poet
turned on him and severely injured him. This came to the ears
of the King. His Majesty was strongly displeased and ordered the
unruly young man to be put in prison.
This term of imprisonment
actually proved to be a blessing in disguise, for it was while
he was in prison that he conceived the idea of writing a long
imaginative romance, with two princely brothers as heroes living
adventures in a world full of magic charms and enchantments and
strange beings. This was the beginning of the famous Phra Abhai
Mani, one of the greatest imaginative works ever written. It was
not completed until the poet was middle-aged, but he was able
to sell many cantos of it in manuscript form to a delighted public
while he was in prison, and thus earned a handsome income for
himself.
As might have been
expected, he did not remain in prison long. He was far too useful
to the King. One day, His Majesty had urgent need of his services
and so granted him a full pardon. Once again, Sunthorn Phu became
the royal favourite, the instructor of royal sons and a general
literary adviser. He was one of the famous literary circle, headed
by Rama II, that composed one of the finest works in the language,
The Story of Khun chang and Khun Phan. He is accredited with having
written the chapter about the birth of Phlai Ngarm, son of Khun
Phan and the heroine Wan Thong.
It was in his capacity
as literary adviser that he incurred the wrath of the King's eldest
son, Prince Jesdabodindra, also a poet. Sunthorn Phu ventured
to make public criticism of some lines written by the Prince,
sometimes going to the extent of improving the lines by rewriting
them extempore, a kind of work at which he was particularly adept.
The Prince took this as a personal slight, and unfortunately for
the poet, never forgot it and never forgave him for it.
In 1824, Sunthorn Phu's
great patron, King Rama II, passed away, and Sunthorn Phu's enemy,
Prince Jesdabodindra, ascended the throne as King Rama III. The
poet was at once deprived of his title and position, and he had
to take to the kindly shelter of the yellow robe. He remained
in the monkhood, for 18 years. during this period, he wrote several
poems, the most notable being Nirat Suphan and Nirat Wat Chao
Fa, all written on his various journeys to different places.
Around 1832, Prince
Lakhananukhun, a young son of King Rama III, took a liking to
the wandering poet, and took him under his patronage. Sunthorn
Phu then left the monkhood and lived as a retainer of this prince
for whom he wrote several more cantos of Phra Abhai Mani and some
other poems. But adversity dogged the poet, for in 1835, his princely
patron died and he was again thrown out upon the world. During
this unhappy period, he led a sorry existence, wandering from
place to place in a boat which was his only home and selling his
poems wherever he could.
A great poet like Sunthorn
Phu could not remain long in obscurity, however. Not very long
afterwards, Prince Isaresrangsan, another son of King Rajma II,
received him into his service. This prince was the favourite younger
brother of Prince Mongkut, and when the latter became King Rama
IV, he was raised to the rank of His Majesty Phra Pin Klao and
invested with regal powers. The prince thereupon bestowed on his
Poet Laureate the dignity of Phra Sunthorn Voharn, a position
which the latter retained to the end of his days. During this
last period, when he was under the patronage of His Majesty Phra
Pin Klao, he wrote Nirat Phra Prathom and many other poems including
lullabies for the royal children. He lived and wrote to a ripe
old age. He died, a man of rank, position and fame, at the age
of seventy, in 1855.
The greatness of Sunthorn
Phu lies not so much in correct and ornate style, which is the
aim of most Thai poets, as in the very simplicity and sincerity
of his expression. Unlike so many other poets, he wrote from his
heart and not from his head. Not being a learned man, he confined
himself to simple forms of verse and simple language. But in his
own field, in what we call Glon poetry, he was past master and
his works are unsurpassed and probably can never be surpassed,
although no other Thai poet has had so many imitators. But Sunthorn
Phu reigns supreme, because in all his poetry, in Phra Abhai Mani,
in his Nirats with their mixture of romance, pathos and humour,
he touched the heartstrings of the common people. That is why
he is so deservedly called the People's Poet.
- Prince Prem Purachatra
Return
to Thai Students On-line
|
