LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Alastor
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Alastor was published nearly three years after the issue of Queen Mab, in 1816, in a thin volume with a few other poems. It is strongly opposed to the earlier poem, and begins that series of ideal portraits,--in the main, incarnations of Shelley's own aspiring and melancholy spirit,--which contain his personal charm and shadow forth his own history of isolation in the world; they are interpretations of the hero rather than pronunciamentos of the cause, and are free from the entanglements of political and social reform and religious strife. The poetical antecedents of Alastor are Wordsworth and Coleridge. The deepening of the poet's self-consciousness is evident in every line, and the growth of his genius in grace and strength, in the element of expression, is so marked as to give a different cadence to his verse. He composed the poem in the autumn of 1815, when he was twenty-three years old and after the earlier misfortunes of his life had befallen him. Mrs. Shelley's account of the poem is the best, and nothing has since been added to it:
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Alastor is written in a very different tone from Queen Mab. In the latter, Shelley poured out all the cherished speculations of his youth -- all the irrepressible emotions of sympathy, censure, and hope, to which the present suffering, and what he considers the proper destiny of his fellow-creatures, gave birth. Alastor, on the contrary, contains an individual interest only. A very few years, with their attendant events, had checked the ardour of Shelley's hopes, though he still thought them well grounded, and that to advance their fulfilment was the noblest task man could achieve.
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Alastor wailed and pounded against Jacob’s door. Already the enchantments were beginning to fade. Jacob set to work with his chalk, drawing as fast as he could. In the meantime, Alastor screamed at him.
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In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Alastor is the grim, silent pit fiend who serves as the Executioner of Baator. He is ... the bodyguard of the Dark Lord of Nessus and is that power's most trusted servant.
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You got to hand it to a band that has the proverbial balls to name themselves after an 1815 Percy Shelley poem "Alastor; or the Spirit of Solitude." Singer Elizabeth Elkins, drummer Scott Roberts and bassist Christopher 'Brillo' Karow are on a full-on assault on the Southeastern music scene. Known for their sardonic wit and a knack for shameless self-promotion, Alastor has set their sights on the national music scene and will accept no substitute. Hard at work writing the follow-up to their Gatecrasher Records release Nothing for Anyone, Elkins took some time to chat with the Monkey about her side-job, a cool grant and the elusive quest for fame.
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Alastor lay in pieces across the courtyard, the shards crackling with lightening and sparking with energy. Dante stared at the pieces, frustration on his normally expressionless face. Distracted by the loss of his treasured blade, Dante failed to look up in time at Cerberus' latest attack. A sudden wave of brutal heat washed over him, barely endured by what remained of his demonic strength. The demon dog's fireball came too fast and, unprepared, Dante could not dodge it. His vision went black.
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