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

  1. dismissed
  2. pragmatic
  3. style
  4. society
  5. austen
  6. propriety
  7. 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

  1. act
  2. advice
  3. arrogant
  4. austen
  5. awkwardly
  6. barbs
  7. bennet
  8. characters
  9. common
  10. daughter
  11. dismissed
  12. endless
  13. favorite
  14. find
  15. friendly
  16. grapple
  17. humor
  18. hypocrisy
  19. jokes
  20. laugh
  21. live
  22. lofty
  23. love
  24. naturally
  25. neighbors
  26. peers
  27. popular
  28. pragmatic
  29. propriety
  30. romance
  31. rules
  32. sentimental
  33. small
  34. society
  35. sport
  36. stories
  37. style
  38. talk
  39. thread
  40. time
  41. trade
  42. turn
  43. work
  44. writing