A lipogram is a writing technique that deliberately excludes one or more letters in an alphabet. It requires finding alternative words that fit the intended meaning without compromising the letter omission strategy. Examples include novels and even Shakespeare’s works. A pangrammatic lipogram includes all the letters of the language, with no single letter omitted.
A lipogram is a specific type of construction in literature or other writing that features text that deliberately excludes one or more letters in an alphabet. It is a broad type of label for a broader category of communications or written works, and the letter exclusion technique can be used in many different ways. While the practice of creating lipograms may date back more than a century, many examples of this technique come from the 20th century, when authors began experimenting with how letter exclusions ultimately affect writing.
In general, writers using the lipogram writing technique need to look for more words that fit the intended meanings without compromising the letter omission strategy. For example, a writer trying to replicate another author’s work may need to take a word like “attempt” in a text and change it to another word that, while having a similar meaning, does not include the letter “e”. . The writer usually uses a word with a rather general purpose, such as, in this case, “try”. By multiplying this simple task a few thousand times, it is possible for someone who has never written a book-length lipogram to imagine what it would be like to tackle this demanding job of literary creation.
Many of the more familiar and popular examples of lipograms are in the form of English-language novels. Some of the most prominent examples of these romances omit an English-language full vowel, often the letter “e,” as a prime example. A novel called “A Void,” which was itself a translation of a French work, achieved prominence as a book-length manuscript that did not include the letter “e.”
In addition to the original works and translated works, some classic English-language works have been rewritten to exclude some vowels. These include some of William Shakespeare’s works. For example, Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet was rewritten without the letter “l” as a further exercise in how restrictive alphabetic choices affect a text.
Some specific types of lipograms are also particularly noted by linguists and other academics. This includes what is called the pangrammatic lipogram. A pangrammatic lipogram deliberately includes all the letters of the language, with no single letter omitted.
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