Edgar Lee Masters’ “Frank Drummer”

Edgar Lee Masters’ “Frank Drummer”

“Frank Drummer” had high aspirations for himself but died young at age twenty-five.

Introduction and Text of “Frank Drummer”

The epitaph”Frank Drummer” from Edgar Lee Masters’ American classic Spoon River Anthology features a character study of a milder personality than most of the other Spoon River collection o f speakers.

Frank Drummer

Out of a cell into this darkened space—
The end at twenty-five!
My tongue could not speak what stirred within me,  
And the village thought me a fool.
Yet at the start there was a clear vision,
A high and urgent purpose in my soul  
Which drove me on trying to memorize  
The Encyclopedia Britannica!

Commentary on “Frank Drummer”

Although the reader never learns to what specific goals he aspired, Frank reveals that he at least thought himself capable of achieving great things.  He demonstrates an intense emotional make-up that was likely responsible for his landing in jail.

First Movement:  Died in Jail

Out of a cell into this darkened space—
The end at twenty-five!
My tongue could not speak what stirred within me,  
And the village thought me a fool.

Frank reports that he died in jail and was immediately introduced to the grave, “this darkened space”—and at the young age of twenty-five.  His emotion was so strong that he could not even speak, and thus the town “thought me a fool.”  Frank, of course, sees himself as one destined for high achievement, but instead he committed some crime that brought him low.

Second Movement:  Bright Mind Turned Dark

Yet at the start there was a clear vision,
A high and urgent purpose in my soul  
Which drove me on trying to memorize  
The Encyclopedia Britannica!

However, early on in this life, his mind was bright and his soul possessed “[a] high and urgent purpose.”  That high purpose motivated him to try to “memorize / The Encyclopedia Britannica!”

Frank’s evaluation of his own capabilities show that he was not tethered to reality.  He thinks that memorizing a set of encyclopedia was enough to support his contention that he was clear-minded and had “high purpose.”