Alastor


(sometimes initial capital letter) an avenging spirit or deity frequently evoked in Greek tragedy; a male Nemesis.
Contemporary Examples

He played Prof. alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody in three of the films.
Fat, Ugly, and Famous Nicole LaPorte July 26, 2011

Historical Examples

The sense of life and the sense of mystery are seen in alastor and these are due to the influence of Wordsworth.
The Radicalism of Shelley and Its Sources Daniel J. MacDonald

alastor: Ay, ay, but he has a long time been talking to the deaf.
The World’s Greatest Books — Vol XX — Miscellaneous Literature and Index Various

Mr Andrew Bradley thinks he sees evidence that alastor influenced him strongly.
Life of John Keats Sidney Colvin

I believe it is nearly as beautiful as the cavern in Shelley’s ‘alastor.’
Mount Royal, Volume 1 of 3 Mary Elizabeth Braddon

The whole poem of ‘alastor’ was to be foreseen in that fainting.
Yesterdays with Authors James T. Fields

It is certain that Keats read and was impressed by alastor: doubtless he also read the Hymn.
Life of John Keats Sidney Colvin

The poem would thus have borne a certain relation to alastor, and also to Epipsychidion.
Adonais Shelley

There is a quotation, or rather a misquotation, from it in the Preface to alastor.
Oxford Lectures on Poetry Andrew Cecil Bradley

alastor, which appeared in 1816, attracted comparatively little attention.
Early Reviews of English Poets John Louis Haney

in Greek tradition, son of Neleus, brother of Nestor, slain by Herakles. The name is perhaps literally “not to forget,” from privative prefix a- “not” + root of lathein “to forget” (see Lethe), hence its use figuratively in sense of “an avenging spirit.” Or else it might be connected with alaomai “to wander, roam,” figuratively “to be distraught.”

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