An Examination of Sunthorn Phu’s Creative Process

Abstract

The creative process in Sunthorn Phu’s works shows him to be using the imagination in a succession of styles. His imagination can best be classified, according to Coleridge’s theory, into the primary imagination, the secondary imagination, and fancy. In the early works, there is a strong evidence of the primary imagination which involves sense perception. Then, in the middle period, Sunthorn Phu takes up the secondary imagination which, according to Coleridge, “dissolves, diffuses, dissipates in order to recreate.” The products of this imagination are, notably, Phra Abhai Mani and Nirat Phu Khao Thong. Lastly, in the later stages of his writing, there is a preponderance of dream and memory, termed by Coleridge as fancy. The example given is Nirat Phra Prathom.