Howdy doody. This isn't very well written, but I had no intention of writing an essay. So enjoy my procastination.
This is all my analysis, so it may be horribly WRONG, but then again this is english, a subject designed for making a big deal out of nothing.
My take on it is that The Holy Grail is a metaphor for the ultimate goal in life. So that could be symbolism or a metaphor, I'm not sure. Anyway my opinion is that in this case, the ultimate goal is material wealth, or "fortune and glory". So it could symbolise popular culture, and it is also catholic/christian iconography. Being written by a big rock band, it sounds like they've been drawn into the materialistic lifestyle seeking money and fame. The fact that he is in the "biggest army the world has ever seen" implies that it is everybody's goal to be rich and famous, seeking only the selfish material things.
There is an allusion to the crusades as well ("well have you heard about the great crusade") and the fact that the song's about the holy grail. I don't know much about the crusades.
It uses figurative speech- "yeah we raise four corners of the globe", which shows their determination. "full of beans" and "dying like flies" is also colloquial, and it shows their determination but they just can't achieve their goal. Which maybe has something to do with the "big black birds" "circling in the sky", which uses alliteration. The birds symbolise the obstacles encountered on the journey, perhaps in the context of the band, the people waiting for them to fail, perhaps journalists? Either that, or natural death, as they run out of time to accomplish their goal. The juxtaposition "I been high I been low" also adds to the sense of determination.
"The cold light of day"- is a metaphor, and indicates reality, and the depressing nature of this journey.
The repetition of the line "nowhere else to go" Is pretty useful. It implies that the journey wasn't his choice, but was social expectation. This is helped by the fact that he "followed orders". It shows that he doesn't know any better than this journey, and knows no other way. This could be linked to people mindlessly following this shallow goal because they know no other way.
There is a change of tense at the end to present, as well as repetition. He repeats "i'm still here, I'm still a fool", which highlights his perseverance in the journey. After all of the hardships he is "still a fool for the holy grail", which again is repeated. This could have multiple meanings, either that he has not learnt from the journey, and hasn't grown or been affected. Or, It could just emphasize his determination.
My main argument about this was that sometimes journeys are not commenced because of the travellers free will and own decision, but because of expectation thrust upon them. It could also be said that despite his realisation that the journey is negative, he is drawn to the power of the journey, and that he knows no other way. Finally, this journey can be seen as selfish, only aiming to achieve material gain, and is focused on the self rather than the greater good. It is interesting that he takes the point of view of the crusader, who were aggressors, but I don't know what this is achieving, other than the imagery of the army and it's goal.
Now I'm going to go and actually do my work.:wave:
