Okay, so all those who have got that sharp memory might remember that I had earlier told you all about An Entire Novel With No Verbs. But here comes another amazing feat that has been achieved by Earnst Wright..
"Gadsby" is a novel by Earnst Wincent Wright written around 1939. It is famous for NOT containing the letter 'e', the most common letter in the English language! To top it all, let me tell you that the novel is more than 50,000 words long and has 267 pages!!
If you don't believe me, let me clarify what Wikipedia says about this novel:
You can read here the Introduction of the novel by the author, in which he even states that:
Now, if you infer that 'e' is one of the letters we may not be using in our writings much, let me further point out to the fact that you are mistaken here too!
The letter 'e' is the most commonly used letter in English language (frequency being 12.70 %), followed by the letter 't' which has a frequency of usage of only 9.05 %. The letter frequency chart shows letters in this order:
If you don't believe me, let me clarify what Wikipedia says about this novel:
- The novel is about 50,100 words long.
- The lack of the letter 'e' makes Gadsby a lipogram, or an example of constrained writing.
- The use of odd punctuation, contrived language, and disjointed air carry on throughout the book.
- As well as having to avoid common words such as 'the', 'he', and 'she', Wright made the task particularly hard for himself by setting Gadsby in the past tense, while avoiding the verb ending '-ed'.
- He also made valiant attempts to include objects that ordinarily require the letter E, such as a horse-drawn fire engine; he achieved this by describing the object without quite naming it.
- Wright never saw his work in print - he died at the age of 66 on the day it was published.
You can read here the Introduction of the novel by the author, in which he even states that:
THE ENTIRE MANUSCRIPT of this story was written with the E type-bar of the typewriter tied down; thus making it impossible for that letter to be printed. This was done so that none of that vowel might slip in, accidentally.
Now, wasn't that interesting?
The letter 'e' is the most commonly used letter in English language (frequency being 12.70 %), followed by the letter 't' which has a frequency of usage of only 9.05 %. The letter frequency chart shows letters in this order:
e t a o i n s r h l d c u m f p g w y b v k x j q z
If you think it's sheer madness or it is very difficult to write such a lengthy novel, let me tell you that this is not the only one such book.
La Disparition ("The Disappearance") is another 300 page French lipogrammatic novel, written in 1969 by Georges Perec, " without the letter "e". The English translation Gilbert Adair is named "A Void".
But if you still think that it is easy, try writing a single meaningful paragraph in the comment box without the letter 'e' :D
Related Posts:
June 7, 2008 at 1:04 PM
Just trying to fill up this block with words that do not contain you know what.
June 7, 2008 at 2:33 PM
Wow, that's amazing, how could that be possible? - oops, two 'e's
June 7, 2008 at 2:34 PM
Hi chikoos,
Yes, it was interesting to see that you try to make a comment without using the letter 'e'. Now you might be wondering how difficult it is!!
June 7, 2008 at 10:28 PM
...written around 1939. It is famous for containing the letter'e'...
I presume you mean "it is famous for NOT containing the letter 'e' :)
After doing a little research myself on this (VERY little :D) I've concluded that he probably should have used the letter "e" more often .. there are too many commas and descriptions .. It's Thanksgiving Turkey!! Not "that holiday bird"
June 7, 2008 at 11:24 PM
Hi Gad,
Now you see how difficult it is, isn't it? Almost impossible!!
June 7, 2008 at 11:27 PM
Hi Hart,
Thank you for the correction. Yes, it was NOT and I corrected it.
You've done a wonderful research. Yes, maybe... he should have used more 'e's... Thanks.
June 14, 2008 at 12:33 PM
And what do I say to a girl with such a fantastic disposition? Do I ask for anything not intrinsic in my own soul, or do I ask for an infinity of arrows from cupid? I think that I shall only try to bargain for what is in the cards. Nothing can stop happy. Nothing can stop things in foils of chronos arms; nor start that which is not.
"I did my best and beleive I did not put in E in the above."
June 14, 2008 at 4:03 PM
This is immposible! :D I tried to come up w/ something to say w/o the letter "e" my mind can't figure it out. Interesting post. I guess I'll have to find a copy of the book. :)
June 14, 2008 at 4:44 PM
Hello Chris,
Must say, I could not make much sense of what you said until I read the last line. A wonderful try. I suppose you could even try your hands at a short story if not a novel, eh?
June 14, 2008 at 4:46 PM
Hi ssb,
That is what I thought too but you must grab a coy of the book, to believe it yourself. It certainly is really really tough :P
June 15, 2008 at 2:31 PM
Cannot do that without a lot of typos. I should skip so many of it, I'd not try.
Wow I did it!
But hmm I want to actually flick through this book.
June 15, 2008 at 9:15 PM
Hi Cris,
You did good without any typos. A fabulous job....
Hey...I did it too :P
You should do that soon :)
July 3, 2008 at 5:37 AM
Amazing tidbit of thought. It is thoroughly hard to think of as many words as you can without using that symbol. It's a good workout for your brain! I don't know how long I could do this. Probably not a lot in addition to this. I think it's cool though.
April 1, 2009 at 7:14 AM
I saw this just now, but this isn't so tough. It's worth a try.
(huh, managed a bland line, but its awesome to write a whole book without "e". Hope it ended up being a good read).
April 1, 2009 at 2:46 PM
@ Vijay- LOL! It must be a good read! Nice try bro :)
May 15, 2009 at 9:14 AM
"Carrots stink", said John to his mom during lunch. "No carrots don't stink. It is you who think so."said his mom. Now finish all carrots in front of you."said his mom. Saying that, John throws off all the carrots into the trash bin.
Well this is tough. U will have 2 make up a story without 'e' thinking not 'bout the topic u want. But a topic which doesn't contain e!
Well, i tried my best above.
May 15, 2009 at 9:15 AM
"Carrots stink", said John to his mom during lunch. "No carrots don't stink. It is you who think so."said his mom. Now finish all carrots in front of you."said his mom. Saying that, John throws off all the carrots into the trash bin.
Well this is tough. U will have 2 make up a story without 'e' thinking not 'bout the topic u want. But a topic which doesn't contain e!
Well, i tried my best above.
May 15, 2009 at 9:16 AM
Sorry i posted 2 of em
May 15, 2009 at 1:30 PM
@ Amogh- wow...thats a fabulous try!! Am proud of you....its a much more difficult task than it looks :P
No probs :)
August 4, 2009 at 4:41 AM
ha ha ! as i post this i find that i am also within the ability to conduct a working paragraph ; in which said symbol ( that i shall so aptly call it, ) occurs in no word at all !
upon writing this i find that I'm now very smug about it and happy with what has occurred, with that my amigos, i bid you all adios.
-Jo.D...smart ass.
October 1, 2009 at 8:12 AM
why would somebody try such a daunting task, think about the impossibility of not using such an important part of our day to day writing,id like to skim the book in order to view if mr.wright didnt throw in an (*) just to test our ability to stay in focus
NO E's YEAH!!!!!
November 30, 2009 at 7:37 AM
It is famous for consisting only of words not containing a particular (and most common) writing symbol (to clarify: that which follows 'd'). Gadsby is thus a lipogram, or a display of constraint in writing—a difficult art. It is 50,100 words long, and Wright's fourth book. Wright informs us in Gadsby's introduction of having had to impair his own writing contraption to avoid slipups. Quoting from its initial paragraph, for a look into its mood: "If youth, throughout all history, had a champion to stand up for it; to show a doubting world that a child can think; and, possibly, do it practically; you wouldn't constantly run across folks today who claim that "a child don't know anything." A child's brain starts functioning at birth; and has, amongst its many infant convolutions, thousands of dormant atoms, into which God has put a mystic possibility for noticing an adults act, and figuring out its purport." This abundant utilization of punctuation and disjoint air go on throughout Gadsby in Wright's fight to accomplish his lipogram—it struck a fatal blow, though, as Wright would pass away on its day of publication.
i did some research and i found this(my mom actually owns a copy)and plus i used no Es
November 30, 2009 at 7:45 AM
i think i did the best and it wasn't that hard to me
February 17, 2010 at 8:00 PM
ANONYMOUS on October1, 2009 used three es even though they said they didn't. just pointing that out. also, get this. my english teacher assigned my class a 100 word essay about why language is important, and we're not allowed to use the letter e. needless to say, i am going to fail. someone pass the thesorus!
February 17, 2010 at 10:09 PM
ok. i have finished my 100 word essay without using the letter e. here it goes(i know it sucks, but i'm still going to get 10% because i answered the question without using e. it's also very morbid and gloomy, but i was running out of things to say...):
Communication is important in all of our world and its many dynamics. Wihthout communication, not many things could occur. All human activity is difficult without communication. Without communication, our country would not control as much, or obtain as many bountiful things, for without communication, trading and purchasing goods would hold much difficulty for all groups participating. Jobs, food for a family, clithing, and all basic living compulsions would hold much difficulty to obstain . If our world lost its communication, chaos would most probably follow, causing a crisis of a most grim constetution. All is lost without communication. Know that I am not actually this morbid and slow. this was simply a poor try at writing what was cast.
119 words.
May 23, 2010 at 5:07 PM
This is amazing! I'll post about it in my Friday Things post at www.zemeks.blogspot.com with a link back here.
May 23, 2010 at 5:31 PM
this is amazing
its good to know folks try writing such stuff
yo, i did that !!!
October 6, 2010 at 7:14 PM
Naturally, this book is an amazing work of art. Its distinguishing mark is its lack of a particular digit, that which is obvious in any book or writing. I can't wait to look at it!
November 25, 2010 at 4:45 AM
I'm in adoration of all things Oulipo and lipogramatic. It has a kind of rhythm, its own sound, like a bass in the background - it could start your blood.
March 20, 2011 at 2:14 AM
Humanity is an amazing thing. It will do so much, I think. Its brain it so amazing it has built so much. It visits orbit and bottoms of big bits of H2O. Cars and trains pull us along without us having to push. Our food is brought to our shops and bars without us putting any work in.
Last Friday a tsunami hit Japan. It hurt but Japan still functions and its humans work as a group to build up Japan to a good position again. Japan is an amazing location, its natural good look is 2nd to its ability to build amazing bits of small robotics and similar.
But along with building amazing robotics our ability to find ways to kill our compatriots is 2nd to nothing. Bombs that can kill millions of us in 1 go was built in many locations all so that humans could claim victory. This is not how our compatriots should
April 8, 2011 at 5:14 AM
(Not even trying to leave out the 'e'. :) )
I'd say, even more impressive than a novel without the letter 'e' is the book Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn. It slowly eradicates every letter from the alphabet down to lmnop. It starts with Z, then Q, then D and goes on from there. It's AMAZING!
July 1, 2011 at 8:32 AM
it is simple to not post that thing you know i cant post in this block :)
August 11, 2011 at 12:56 AM
It's amazing, isn't it? A human man with such a book, without a part of ABC's. I know that I could not pull such a thing, away from X Y and Z. It's admiringly hard, but it's worth a try. I might, during a long day. But not any day soon. That's it for now. -Nayrad
P.S I'm only 11 yrs. old.
October 23, 2011 at 2:27 AM
I wrote a a paragraph about 1,000 words without using the letter e and it was not easy. Try writing a paragraph without using that the letter e, see how hard it is. I guess an erection would be lots of blood in main vain
December 10, 2011 at 10:03 PM
i have to write an intire 100 word report without using e! it is so hard i havent even startted and its due in 2 days!
February 16, 2012 at 5:26 AM
i am painting a photograph of dogs in a park, That walk with passion and sufistication.
April 5, 2012 at 6:30 AM
TO ANONYMOUS: DOES IT COUNT AS FAILURE WHERE THE E (WHETHER A TYPO OR SUBCONSCIOUS MECHANISM) IS USED IN THE WORD, CONSTITUTION?
April 10, 2012 at 9:59 AM
I just found this discussion and sought to give it a try. I find this particularly tough to do and won’t try to do so again, so long as it is not mandatory to do so. I wish that it is mandatory on no occasion, as it is shockingly difficult. I just thought it may allow a slight bit of fun is all.
May 3, 2012 at 10:37 AM This comment has been removed by the author.
May 14, 2012 at 4:33 AM
My teacher is making us write a 300 minimal essay without using any E's.. He kind of sucks. lol. I'm only a freshman in high school, in an non-advanced class.
May 14, 2012 at 4:37 AM
My teacher is making us write a 300 minimal essay without using any E's.. He kind of sucks. lol. I'm only a freshman in high school, in an non-advanced class.** Forgot to mention that he only gave us a day..**
October 10, 2012 at 12:46 AM
wow, thats amazing, in my creative writing class we have to do a poem with out any 'E's. >:| its very difficult >:\
October 19, 2012 at 7:25 PM
Gadsby's skillful application of lipogrammatic writing brings nothing but joy that is worthy of a rousing chorus. Kudos to Mr Gadsby!
February 8, 2013 at 2:51 AM
Good day,
Such a glorious morning today, but a bit chilly. So i took a walk to a fancy building with my dog. I bit into a taco and salsa got on my pants. so I put on a skirt with stars on it. tomorrow, i shall put on a abstract skirt, and will fancy your opinion.
Thanks,
............
- there you go!! no e's
July 14, 2013 at 5:55 PM
I did a search for 'e' on a downloaded copy of the book and found the word 'the' on pp. 51, 103, 124; and 'officers' on p. 213.
September 4, 2014 at 6:54 AM
Gadsby (ca. 1939) is an amazingly unusual book.
November 19, 2015 at 5:54 AM
You put you-know-what in your paragraph. Good try, though. :p
March 28, 2019 at 5:55 PM
H i All,
All following paragraphs in this communication (including this bit), is idiosyncratic in a way that is most unusual. I would hazard that no paragraph you think up did (or from now on) has this particular trait. It has nothing to do with bad grammar or such, but is just particularly unusual in an odd sort of way.. As I already said, this is an unusual paragraph (or actually ’paragraphs’, plural ), and I am curious to know just how quickly you can find out what is so uncommon about it in comparison to any similar paragraphs you may know of.
Actually, this combination of words look so plain and ordinary that you might think nothing was wrong at all. In fact, nothing IS wrong, it is just HIGHLY UNUSUAL.
Study and think about it, although you still may not find anything odd. But just work at it a bit, you might find out. Try to do so without any coaching from anybody; work on it and try YOUR skill.
No doubt, with a bit of brainwork it will soon dawn on you.
But you must do it without any hints or coaching. No doubt, if you work at it for a bit, it will dawn on you. Who knows how quickly this will occur? Go to work and try your skill.
If at first you fail, tax your brains and try again. Don't miss a word or a symbol. It isn't all that difficult.
If you still can't work it out, show it to hubby, who might actually work out just what I am going on about fairly quickly.
By way of an annotation (that still contains this oddity), in 1939 an author (Wright) actually put out a book (‘Gatsby’), that had 50,100 words in it, all of which stuck to this strict condition.
What condition?
Okay, here is a big hint:
This unusual condition is known grammatically as a ’lipogram’.
(Don't look that word up just now - you must play fair).
Mr Wright’s book (’Gatsby’) is thus an award worthy lipogram, and all linguists uphold that it is a most difficult art. Actually it took almost half an hour to finish this, a (by comparison) tiny opus.
If, you still can not work out what is so odd about this 400-word communication, simply go ahead right now and look up that word..... ’LIPOGRAM’.
That’s all for now - good night folks �� .
June 21, 2019 at 4:43 AM
Chris, in number 7 on June 14th, you did use an "e" where you stated "it was in the cards".
December 22, 2022 at 5:03 PM
"View"
December 22, 2022 at 5:09 PM
"somebody", "the", "like", "the", "order", "view", "test"
December 22, 2022 at 5:10 PM
You'd have it if you didn't misspell "constitution"