Even after its revival (in the form of an instrumental suite) in the late 1960s, William Walton's score for the ballet The Quest failed to establish a foothold in the modern repertoire and still remains relatively obscure. Most scholars identify the wartime context in which it was originally presented as the reason for its initial success when it premiered by London's Sadler Wells Ballet in 1943. Borrowing for its plotline an episode from Edmund Spenser's The Fairie Queene, the story stood as a simplified and stylized allegory on the struggle between good and evil—a struggle that in war-embroiled Britain tugged at strong nationalistic sentiments: St. George, embodying Holiness, must overcome numerous enemies encountered in the Palace of Pride before reuniting with Una, representing Truth. After the war, however, such explicit pronouncements perhaps came off as jingoistic to a less politically emboldened audience. As one historian concluded, "while it remained a patriotic novelty, The Quest has a certain success, but it did not enjoy, and did not deserve, a long life."

Considered historically with several intervening decades, however, the work can be appreciated for its musical merits—many of which were identified by early critics and listeners. Audiences were pleased by the approachability of the music, which, in order to accommodate choreography, was rhythmically less jarring and instrumentally less complex than some of Walton's more self-consciously unwieldy works. Furthermore, Walton's dramatic gestures were unambiguous—an evil magician, for example gets an angularly sinister theme bearing the unusual indication "allegro malizioso" (quickly, with malice), while the fight scenes take on a straightforward military air with thumping quarter note chords. The passacaglia with which the piece ends depicts the spiritual atmosphere of St. George's and Una's reunion, and their arrival at the House of Holiness. Though simple, such dramatic elements are not meant as simplistic: Walton manages his melodrama closely, so that an exaggerated gesture still carries its point. The Quest is a bit rough around the edges; witnesses to the first production recalled that Walton was chronically tardy in delivering the score, which arrived in piecemeal fashion—sometimes minutes ahead of rehearsal. Still, its combination of musical interest and historical curiosity warrant a wider audience.

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