Listen&Learn: Gadsby
Posted by: Jaksyn PeacockPre-listening vocabulary
- lipogram: a text that excludes a certain letter
- challenge: a difficult task
- introduction: a beginning section in a book that gives information about the story or the author
- typewriter: a device that types letters directly on paper
- self-publish: to publish a book without the help of a publishing company
Listening activity
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Gapfill exercise
Comprehension questions
See answers below
- A text that excludes a specific letter is called
a. an epigram
b. a lipogram
c. an anagram - The most common letter in English is
a. e
b. a
c. i - To stop himself from using the “e” key on his typewriter, Wright
a. tied it down
b. removed it
c. painted it black
Discussion/essay questions
- Can you make a comment without using the letter “e”?
Transcript
Gadsby is a 1939 novel by American writer Ernest Vincent Wright. It is a lipogram, which means it does not include a specific letter of the alphabet. In Gadsby, there are no words that contain the letter “e”. This was a challenge, because “e” is the most common letter in English. In the introduction to the book, Wright says that he tied down the “e” key on his typewriter to stop himself from using it. Wright self-published his book, and he died before it became famous. However, it later inspired other novel-length lipograms. One of these was a French novel called La Disparition, or A Void in English. This novel successfully avoided the letter “e” in both the French original and the English translation.
Answers to comprehension questions
1b 2a 3a
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21 comments
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André Joël Petit-Homme says:
that was amazing to know such things.
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English Club Indonesia says:
I just knw thr is a book lik that lol
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Mubashara Ameen says:
Good..Infact, this was amazing
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hanie says:
good,thanks.
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zufshan kayani says:
Comment without letter “e”
I am trying to publish a book which would a lipogram hohooo -
Marc-Bonel Elysee says:
It was amazing for me, thank you so much. I appreciate our help.
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Kapil says:
English
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Gaya Ali says:
Thank you for inspiration Iwill try it
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Khaled says:
Thanks 2much for that effort
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Wageh aziz says:
Interesting, thanks a lot
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Fulton Chin says:
Very interesting indeed, thanks.
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mehmet says:
Thank you. Writing sentences without an “e” letter is interesting and also really challenging.
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Gennady says:
It’s very interesting for me, but first to learn any text with all letters of the alphabet.
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Cristina Alvarado says:
Congratulations!Outstanding.No words to add. Thank you so much
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Lissage says:
Thanks a lot.Very interesting!
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Editor says:
Can you imagine how difficult it is to write a sentence, let alone a book, with no letter E?! E is the most common letter in the English language. Many pronouns have the letter E: he/she/we/they/her/them. Mind-blowing! :)
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Jorge Berg says:
It’s amazing narration of something.
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Manel says:
Congratulations!
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Heike Tempel says:
Hurray, I can ! Thank you for this inspiration !
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Ahmed Hamed Ahmed says:
Thanks
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Cindy8815 says:
thank you