What is "sycorax"

Sycorax is a character mentioned though not seen in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.

Sycorax may also refer to:

• Sycorax (moon), a moon of Uranus, named after the fictional character
• Sycorax (typeface), a unique combination of typefaces and spelling used by the poet Kamau Brathwaite
• The Sycorax, a fictional alien race from the Doctor Who episode "The Christmas Invasion"
• Sycorax Haliday 1839, a genus of moth flies

Sycorax is the largest retrograde irregular satellite of Uranus. Sycorax was discovered on 6 September 1997 by Brett J. Gladman, Philip D. Nicholson, Joseph A. Burns, and John J. Kavelaars using the 200-inch Hale telescope, together with Caliban, and given the temporary designation S/1997 U 2.

Officially confirmed as Uranus XVII, it was named after Sycorax, Caliban's mother in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.

Sycorax is an unseen character in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611). She is a vicious and powerful witch and the mother of Caliban, one of the few native inhabitants of the island on which Prospero, the hero of the play, is stranded.

According to the backstory provided by the play, Sycorax, while pregnant with Caliban, was banished from her home in Algiers to the island on which the play takes place. Memories of Sycorax, who dies several years before the main action of the play begins, define several of the relationships in the play. Relying on his filial connection to Sycorax, Caliban claims ownership of the island. Prospero constantly reminds Ariel of Sycorax's cruel treatment in order to maintain the sprite's service.

Scholars generally agree that Sycorax, a foil for Prospero, is closely related to the Medea of Ovid's Metamorphoses. Postcolonialist writers and critics see Sycorax as giving voice to peoples, particularly women, recovering from the effects of colonization. Later versions of The Tempest, beginning with William Davenant's eighteenth-century adaptation, have given Sycorax a vocal role in the play, but maintained her image as a malevolent antagonist to Prospero.

Sycorax (also referred to as "Sycorax video style") is a unique combination of customized typefaces (some resembling dot matrix printing) and spelling used by the poet Kamau Brathwaite.

Category:Typefaces