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Why is "Arragon" spelled wrong, in the Merchant of Venice?
One of Portia's suitors is called the Prince of Arragon; the correct spelling for the prince from a part of Spain is 'Aragon.' You would think someone would have corrected the error, after 500 years.
5 Answers
- ammianusLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
Literacy rates in England were low during Shakespeare's life (around 30%) so relatively few people ever wrote anything down at all.
As a result,the written form of English hadn't yet settled down into a comprehensively accepted form - spelling (even of people's names, Sir Arthur Haselrig in the 1630s and 1640s being a prime example), punctuation,paragraph structure - all were if not random,then certainly open to the interpretation and preference of the writer.
So, "Arragon" is how Shakespeare spelled that particular word at that time when he wrote it down;in late 16th/early 17th century English Language terms,it wasn't a spelling error.
- 5 years ago
Portia (who was portrayed by Lynn Collins) in the 2004 Merchant of Venice film. I dont know why XD
- Hedgi HufflepuffLv 71 decade ago
the Bard could hardly spell his own name, but he was still the Bard, and has earned the write to have his stuff saved the way it is. I guess. maybe I'm just crazy.
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- 1 decade ago
Because it's Shakespeare and he can write how he wants. He made up his own words and you don't see those getting corrected either.
Source(s): I love Shakespeare.