Symbol Analysis
We could probably get in and get out and get on with our lives by just saying this:
Broken Goblet = Holy Grail.
Yep, it's really that simple. But don't worry, we'll walk you through the references, one by one. The first thing you need to know is that the Holy Grail is one of the most enduring symbols in Western culture, so by alluding to it, Frost gives his poem a whole lot of literary weight. This goblet is everything in this poem. It's the symbol on which all of this poem's meaning depends.
- Lines 55-57: Some keep the good crystal for guests. Our guy keeps his cracked goblet for such occasions. He says he's hidden a goblet at the "instep arch" of an old cedar, where, we can imagine, it has been kept for generations, just waiting for your arrival. Using a hefty simile, he compares the goblet to the Holy Grail, using an allusion that's sure to turn heads. Wow. No wonder he kept the thing, even though it was cracked. The Holy Grail is said to have been the vessel from which Jesus Christ drank at the Last Supper. Joseph of Arimathea was said to have used it to catch Christ's blood and sweat. In Arthurian legend it becomes the target of holy quests. So you can see why it is associated with one's destiny, destination, and source (49).
- Line 60: And where'd this Holy Grail come from? Not the Last Supper table in this case. Our speaker swiped it from a nearby children's playhouse—a reminder that sometimes even forgotten, neglected things can hold the secrets to our salvation.