SUNTHON PHU was born in the reign of King Rama I, on June 26, 1789. Soon after he was born his parents divorced and his mother became the wet-nurse of a princess in the royal palace.
Young Phu spent his early years in the palace and received his education in a monastery. Upon leaving school he worked as a government clerk but he was keen in writing verse. He could do it well even as a young boy. And he showed his talent by writing a long poem based on the story Khobutra which, however, was left unfinished.
The youthful poet fell in love with Chan, one of the ladies of the palace. But it was a forbidden love and considered a heinous crime, for which they were both imprisoned. On his release in 1806, Sunthorn Phu left the capital to pay a visit to his father in Rayong who had entered the monkhood. On his way, he wrote his first great poem, Nirat Muang Klaeng, In which he described his journey and wrote of his love for lady Chan. During his visit to his father he fell gravely ill and had to return to Bangkok where he reunited with Chan and married her. His happiness was fulfilled when a son was born to them.
Sadly Phu began drinking too much which caused frequent arguments and Chan left him for another man. But he immortalized her name in verse with the poem Nirat Pha Bat. In 1809, King Rama I died and King Rama II who succeeded him recognized Phu’s exceptional talent, being a poetical genius himself. Phu was given a position at court and often consulted and advised the King who at that time was writing his Ramakien.
Although Phu’s advice was invaluable to King Rama II, due to this drinking problem and unruly nature, King Rama had to imprison Phu once again. This proved to be a blessing in disguise as during his imprisonment he conceived the idea and started work on one of the greatest imaginative works ever written, the Phra Abhai Mani.
The greatness of Sunthorn Phu lies in his simplicity and sincerity of expression. He wrote from his heart not his head. But in Klon poetry, he was past master and his works remain unsurpassed, His works, mixed with romance, pathos and humour have earned him the title he rightly deserves as the People’s Poet.