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Listen&Learn: Gadsby

Posted by: Jaksyn Peacock

Learn about an English novel without the letter “e”.

Pre-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

Gadsby is a 1939 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 that contain the letter “e”. This was a challenge, because “e” is the most 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 other novel-length lipograms. One of these was a French novel called La Disparition, or A Void in English. This novel excluded the letter “e” in both the French original and the English .

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. A text that excludes a specific letter is called
   a. an epigram
   b. a lipogram
   c. an anagram
   
2. The most common letter in English is
   a. e
   b. a
   c. i
   
3. 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

1. 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

Written and recorded by Jaksyn Peacock for EnglishClub

© EnglishClub.com

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21 comments

• André Joël Petit-Homme says:
  

  that was amazing to know such things.

• English Club Indonesia says:
  

  I just knw thr is a book lik that lol

• Mubashara Ameen says:
  

  Good..Infact, this was amazing

• hanie says:
  

  good,thanks.

• 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.

• Kapil says:
  

  English

• Gaya Ali says:
  

  Thank you for inspiration Iwill try it

• Khaled says:
  

  Thanks 2much for that effort

• Wageh aziz says:
  

  Interesting, thanks a lot

• Fulton Chin says:
  

  Very interesting indeed, thanks.

• mehmet says:
  

  Thank you. Writing sentences without an “e” letter is interesting and also really challenging.

• Gennady says:
  

  It’s very interesting for me, but first to learn any text with all letters of the alphabet.

• Cristina Alvarado says:
  

  Congratulations!Outstanding.No words to add. Thank you so much

• Lissage says:
  

  Thanks a lot.Very interesting!

• 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! 🙂

• Jorge Berg says:
  

  It’s amazing narration of something.

• Manel says:
  

  Congratulations!

• Heike Tempel says:
  

  Hurray, I can ! Thank you for this inspiration !

• Ahmed Hamed Ahmed says:
  

  Thanks

• Cindy8815 says:
  

  thank you