full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Iseult Gillespie: The wicked wit of Jane Austen
Unscramble the Blue Letters
But while romance is a common thread in her work, atusen dsssmieid the sentimental slyte of writing so popular at the time. Instead of lofty love stories, her characters act naturally, and often awkwardly. They trade piratmagc advice, friendly jokes and not-so-friendly barbs about their arrogant peers. As they grapple with the endless rules of their sctoiey, Austen’s ccrraehats can usually find humor in all the hypocrisy, pteoripry, and small talk. As Mr. Bennet jokes to his favorite daughter, “For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?”
Open Cloze
But while romance is a common thread in her work, ______ _________ the sentimental _____ of writing so popular at the time. Instead of lofty love stories, her characters act naturally, and often awkwardly. They trade _________ advice, friendly jokes and not-so-friendly barbs about their arrogant peers. As they grapple with the endless rules of their _______, Austen’s __________ can usually find humor in all the hypocrisy, _________, and small talk. As Mr. Bennet jokes to his favorite daughter, “For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?”
Solution
- dismissed
- pragmatic
- style
- society
- austen
- propriety
- characters
Original Text
But while romance is a common thread in her work, Austen dismissed the sentimental style of writing so popular at the time. Instead of lofty love stories, her characters act naturally, and often awkwardly. They trade pragmatic advice, friendly jokes and not-so-friendly barbs about their arrogant peers. As they grapple with the endless rules of their society, Austen’s characters can usually find humor in all the hypocrisy, propriety, and small talk. As Mr. Bennet jokes to his favorite daughter, “For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?”
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
Important Words
- act
- advice
- arrogant
- austen
- awkwardly
- barbs
- bennet
- characters
- common
- daughter
- dismissed
- endless
- favorite
- find
- friendly
- grapple
- humor
- hypocrisy
- jokes
- laugh
- live
- lofty
- love
- naturally
- neighbors
- peers
- popular
- pragmatic
- propriety
- romance
- rules
- sentimental
- small
- society
- sport
- stories
- style
- talk
- thread
- time
- trade
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- work
- writing