Q is for Quite the Quest | #AtoZChallenge

A quest is a heroic journey–often a dangerous mission–undertaken by a protagonist in order to achieve a goal or complete an important task.

The term comes from the medieval Latin questa, meaning “search” or “journey.”

Frodo: Lord of the Rings. GIF by giphy.com.

Quests are the foremost element of the epic. They were popular in medieval stories (e.g., King Arthur’s knights and the quest for the Holy Grail), folklore, and Greek and Roman mythology. Quests have been popular since the earliest English literature and continue to play an important role in fiction today. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is quite the quest. Frodo didn’t quit the quest.

(Source: Quest, Literary Terms, literaryterms.net.)

CALYPSO — John Denver

See also: M is for Moving Along with Motifs — And More (Journey Motif, Hero’s Journey)

All the posts: Components of Literature A to Z

About Eva Blaskovic

I am a multi-genre author of literary fiction, fantasy, and paranormal, and writer of non-fiction articles on parenting, writing, education, health, and travel. My background encompasses both the sciences and the arts. I teach at a specialized clinic for learning disorders and mentor young authors. In addition to writing and teaching, my passions are weather, Indian food, gardening, and music. I have played eight musical instruments and spent many years immersed in taekwondo and karate. In my youth, I was an avid canoeist. I was born in Prague, Czech Republic, grew up in the Great Lakes region of Ontario, Canada, and moved to Alberta in 1988, where I raised four children.

View all posts by Eva Blaskovic →

11 Responses to Q is for Quite the Quest | #AtoZChallenge

Prakash Hegade says:

April 20, 2017 at 6:28 am

LOTR is one my favorites!

Quest it is! 🙂

LikeLiked by 1 person

- Eva Blaskovic says:
  
  April 20, 2017 at 9:22 am
  
  Mine too!
  
  LikeLiked by 1 person
  
Pingback: Theme Reveal: Blogging from A to Z Challenge (April 2017) | Beyond the Precipice
clicksclan says:

April 20, 2017 at 1:21 pm

I’m a big fan of Lord of the Rings. I’m due a reread soon. And it’s such a big book that reading it is sort of a quest on its own!

Cait @ Click’s Clan

LikeLiked by 1 person

- Eva Blaskovic says:
  
  April 20, 2017 at 4:49 pm
  
  🙂
  
  LikeLike
  
Laurel Garver (@LaurelGarver) says:

April 20, 2017 at 2:20 pm

What makes LOTR such a special quest story is that it is the quest to LOSE something (destroy it) rather than to find something, like the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend, for example.
http://laurelgarver.blogspot.com/2017/04/q-questioning.html

LikeLiked by 2 people

- Eva Blaskovic says:
  
  April 20, 2017 at 4:50 pm
  
  Very good point. Gives it an interesting twist.
  
  LikeLiked by 1 person
  
- Susanna J. Sturgis says:
  
  April 21, 2017 at 12:07 pm
  
  Really good point. And to give up power rather than to gain it. LOTR is subversive in so many ways! (I think I’m about due for a rereading myself.)
  
  LikeLiked by 2 people
  
  - Eva Blaskovic says:
    
    April 21, 2017 at 6:08 pm
    
    Now I really want to reread it!
    
    LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: P is for Pathos and Deep POV | #AtoZChallenge | Beyond the Precipice
Pingback: M is for Moving Along with Motifs -- And More | #AtoZChallenge | Beyond the Precipice