A ‘quest’ is defined by the OED as ‘A search or pursuit in order to find something; the action of searching’. Poets have often used the quest motif to discuss all manner of subjects, from religion to nobility to that most important thing, the quest we as individuals take to find ourselves.
The following poems are some of the best quest poems ever written: they range from long narrative poems to short lyrics, from medieval poems to contemporary works. They represent different kinds of quest, but are united by their stirring focus on the important of searching for, and pursuing, something that matters.