Brathwaite's Poem; Letter Sycorax

             In the poem, Caliban uses his native dialect to address his mother. This language usage helped push the theme of oppressors and their slaves incepted by Brathwaite. Sycorax, Caliban's mother, was banished from her home in Algiers to the island where the play is set. Hence, Caliban was a native inhabitant and was constantly oppressed by those in authority like Prospero (Brathwaite, 1994). A backstory of the poem reveals that Prospero taught Caliban the Island's language so he could boss him around. However, in this letter to Sycorax, Caliban utilises his native language and shows his heritage to his roots. Therefore, using a Caribbean dialect in the poem shows honour to his roots and rebellion against the native island rulers.             

Additionally, in the poem, there is a recurring decorative 'X' at the end of the name Sycorax and throughout the poem. This is unlike other poems since it is used in areas where it is not needed. The sensible conclusion is that he learned this letter from his mother, Sycorax (Brathwaite, 1994). Caliban and his mother were native inhabitants of an island where they were constantly looked down upon. They constantly relied upon each other when outside elements worked against them. Before her death, Sycorax was Caliban's pillar and shield. Therefore, the decorative X throughout the poem shows the impactful mother-son relationship between Sycorax and Caliban.             

Brathwaite uses letters and words as artwork in this poem. In typical poems, there would be stanzas, rhyming words, and accompaniments like pictures or sounds. However, in this poem, Brathwaite uses strange fonts; it has no stanzas and no rhyming words or sounds (Brathwaite, 1994). The strange fonts in this poem are used to represent the artwork. It is hard to achieve these font shapes while hand-writing; hence it explains his obsession with the Macintosh computer. He describes this writing style as 'SycoraxVideoStyle.' He explains how personal tragedies led him to develop this writing style.                          

References

Brathwaite, K. (1994). Middle Passages; Letter Sycorax [Ebook] (4th ed., pp. (2-23). Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma. Retrieved 18 October 2022, from http://file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/Brathwaite_Middle%20Passages.pdf.