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Alastor
literary figure
Alastor, any of certain avenging deities or spirits, especially in Greek antiquity. The term is associated with Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution who signified the godsâ disapproval of human presumption. Percy Bysshe Shelleyâs poem Alastor; or, The Spirit of Solitude (1816) was a visionary work in which he warned idealists (like himself) not to abandon âsweet human loveâ and social improvement for the vain pursuit of evanescent dreams. It describes the early wanderings of such an idealist, his search for ideal love, and his eventual lonely death.
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