Literary notes about QUEST (AI summary)
The word "quest" is employed in literature to evoke both physical journeys and more abstract searches, serving as a metaphor for the pursuit of goals, truth, or personal transformation. In many narratives it designates a literal adventure—characters set off to recover a prized object, vanquish an enemy, or locate a mythical realm, as when a hero embarks on a mission to recover a treasure or legendary relic [1][2]. Yet, "quest" also conveys an internal or emotional drive, suggesting the search for identity, meaning, or elusive love [3][4]. Authors use the term with playful versatility, sometimes to describe an undertaking that is as much about personal discovery as it is about external achievement, imbuing their works with layers of symbolic significance [5][6].
- The Fourteenth Book treateth of the quest of the Sangreal, and containeth x chapters.
— from Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Sir Thomas Malory - In quest of these Ulysses took a long journey while still quite young, for his father and the other chieftains sent him on a mission to recover them.
— from The Odyssey by Homer - Why are thy senses unsated Ever in quest of elusive Love that is deathless?
— from The Poems of Sappho: An Interpretative Rendition into English by Sappho - Her soul was in quest of something, which was not just being good, and doing one's best.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - I judged they were looking for me, and I wished them joy of their quest.
— from The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan - Not that he desired booty, but glory; for he hoped for a great increase of renown if he ventured on a wholly unattempted quest.
— from The Danish History, Books I-IX by Grammaticus Saxo
