This article is about the word, for other meanings see Quest (disambiguation)

A quest is a journey towards a goal used in mythology and literature as a plot. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and the overcoming of many obstacles, typically including much travel, which also allows the storyteller to showcase exotic locations and cultures.

Quest objects

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The hero's normal aim is to obtain something, or someone, by the quest and with this object return home. The object can be something new, that fulfills a lack in his life, or something that was stolen away from him. It can also be a lack in the life of, or something stolen from, someone with authority to dispatch him.

Sometimes the hero has no desire to return. Sir Galahad's quest for the Holy Grail is to find it, not return with it. A return may, indeed, be impossible: Aeneas is questing for a homeland, having lost Troy at the beginning of Virgil's Aeneid; he does not return to Troy to refound it but settles in Italy, to become an ancestor of the Romans.

If dispatched, the claim may be false, with the dispatcher actually sending him on the difficult quest in hopes of his death in the attempt, or in order to remove him from the scene for a time, but the story often unfolds just as if the claim were sincere, except that the tale usually ends with the dispatcher being unmasked and punished. Stories with such false quest-objects include the legend of Jason, the fairy tale The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird, and the story of Beren and Lúthien in J. R. R. Tolkien's Silmarillion.

Literary analysis

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The quest, in the form of the Hero's Journey, is central to the Monomyth described by Joseph Campbell; the hero sets forth from the world of common day into a land where adventures, tests, and magical rewards are found.

Vladimir Propp identified a quest as the central function of a fairy tale in his analysis, The Morphology of the Folktale.

Historical Examples

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An early quest story is the quest of Gilgamesh, who seeks a secret to eternal life after the tragic death of Enkidu.

Another ancient quest tale, Homer's Odyssey, tells of Odysseus, who is cursed to wander and suffer for many years before Athena persuades the Olympians to allow him to return home. Recovering the Golden Fleece is the object of the travels of Jason and the Argonauts in the Argonautica. Psyche, having lost Cupid, hunted through the world for him, and was set tasks by Venus, including a descent into the underworld.

Many fairy tales depict the hero or heroine setting out on a quest, such as East of the Sun, West of the Moon where the heroine seeks her husband, The Seven Ravens where the heroine seeks her transformed brothers, The Story of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear, or The Golden Bird where the prince sets out to find the golden bird for his father. Other characters may set out with no more definite aim that to seek their fortune, or even be cast out instead of voluntarily leaving, but learn of something that could aid them along the way and so have their journey transformed from aimless wandering into a quest. Other characters can also set forth on quests — the hero's two older brothers commonly do — but the hero is distinguished by his success. Many medieval romances set the knight out on quests. The term "Knight-errant" sprang from this, as "errant" meant roving or wandering. Sir Thomas Malory included many in Le Morte d'Arthur. The most famous -- perhaps the most famous quest in western literature -- centres on the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. This story cycle recounts multiple quests, in multiple variants, telling stories both of the heroes who succeed, like Percival (in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival) or Sir Galahad (in the Queste del Saint Graal), and also the heroes who fail, like Sir Lancelot.

So consistently did knights quest that Miguel de Cervantes set his Don Quixote on mock quests in a parody of chivalric tales. His attempt to ridicule knight-errantry into non-existence was not successful; quests remain a vital part of fantasy literature to this day.

Modern Literature

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A familiar modern literary quest is Frodo Baggins's quest to destroy the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings. The One Ring, its baleful power, the difficult method which is the only way to destroy it, and the spiritual and psychological torture it wreaks on its Bearer, is used by J. R. R. Tolkien to tell a meaningful tale of friendship and the inner struggle with temptation, against a background of epic and supernatural warfare.

Weak writers, however, may devise the arbitrary quests for items without any importance beyond being the object of the quest. These items are known as MacGuffins, which is sometimes merely used to compare quests and is not always a derogatory term. Writers may also motivate characters to pursue these objects by meanings of a prophecy that decrees it, rather than have them discover that it could assist them, for reasons that are given.

Role-playing Games

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Though often poorly done, the quest is a basic plot in role-playing games and computer role-playing games and works of mass market fantasy fiction.

A stereotypical quest in such a role-playing game will announce that the heroes must assemble some artifact, which unfortunately for them has been broken into several pieces, each of which is guarded by terrible threats which the heroes must overcome. The quest allows the heroes to shine and show the qualities that make them heroic.

In literature as well as video games, side-quests are often used to develop both world and character depth. These miniature plots may or may not have to do with the story's focus (being hereafter called the main quest), and often include a romantic interest, a second major quest that is separate from the main quest, or the videogame's stereotypical "Helping the Neighborhood Solve Its Problems."

The first is the most often used, as most readers/players prefer to have a character that is plausibly real. It often shows the depth of a character's personality, gives opportunity for a seemingly perfect character to have flaws, and presents a possibility for the character's downfall. Sadly, it is sometimes overdone and is without any real thought or planning behind it.

The second is an umbrella, and often includes the romantic interest. One example is in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, the major quest being the binding or destruction of the dark one, with major side quests being the securing of political power, romantic interests, and the growth of personal strength or power. Often times, such as in The Wheel of Time, these major side quests are stepping stones to the completion of the final goal.

The third is the most irritating to the avid gamer; the stereotypical "newbie" level. In the beginning of the game, the character is weak and needs some means of experience and so helps the neighbors solve problems. These side-quests are usually menial in nature and have little to no bearing on the main quest, and include such actions as finding a lost book, finding a lost child, or ridding a basement of rats. Luckily, the gamer quickly passes through this level.

A fourth kind is that of a distraction. While most often used in gaming, it is occasionally found in literature as well. This side-quest usually has no bearing on the plot, consisting of raising pets, playing sports or carnival games, as well any other conceivable thing designed to take the mind off the main quest.

Narratology | Fantasy

Heldenreise | Aventura | Queeste | Квест