Expert: Samuel Noel - 4/10/2009

Question
Hi, would you please help me find texts (from different cultures ) which have the theme of quest? either a one act play, a short story or a poem??
Thanks in advance"

Answer
Hi Gigi,

The motif or theme of a quest is somewhat unusual in short works because of their narrow range of development. Most works that deal with the quest are epics such as "The Faerie Queene" by Edmund Spencer, "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri, or "Le Morte d'Arthur" by Sir Thomas Mallory.

One poem that comes to mind is John Browning's "Meeting at Night" in which the speaker travels in a clandestine manner in search for his lover. "Bless Me, Ultima" is a Chicano novel by Rudolfo Anaya that deals with a young boy in search of his destiny. Herman Hesse's "Siddhartha" is a relatively short work that deals with the protagonist in a quest for Nirvana.

I hope this is helpful.

Sam Noel