Exploring Handwriting Styles In Literature

Handwriting styles in literature can provide fascinating insights into the characters, settings, time periods, and authorial intent of various literary works. An author’s choice of handwriting style for a character often reflects deliberate decisions to convey particular traits or backgrounds. Additionally, the prevalent handwriting styles described in a given literary period reveal insights about the cultural context the author was writing within. Examining the handwriting styles depicted in literature ultimately allows readers to gain a deeper understanding of the characters, setting, themes, and the author’s own perspective. This article will explore how handwriting styles have been utilized in literature to develop characters, establish setting, and convey meaning.

Historical Context

Handwriting styles have evolved significantly over the centuries. Calligraphy and ornate script writing has existed since ancient times, with examples found in China, Egypt, and Rome dating back over 2000 years. As this source explains, handwriting styles were often associated with social class, profession, and gender from the Middle Ages through the 1700s. For instance, merchants and bankers developed quick cursive styles for record-keeping, while aristocratic women focused on elaborate, decorative scripts.

Calligraphy and hand-lettering have had deep cultural significance in many societies. As described in this historical overview, calligraphy was one of the highest art forms in ancient China and Japan. Monks, scribes, and nobility devoted careful effort to brush and ink writing. Even as printing presses allowed more widespread access to books, handwritten and hand-illustrated manuscripts maintained prestige value into the Renaissance era. While handwriting styles have become more uniform in the modern era, calligraphy and hand-lettering remain beloved art forms across cultures.

Character Development

A character’s handwriting can provide insight into their personality, background, and inner thoughts. The shape, size, slant, and other features of handwriting reflect aspects of the writer. For example, rounded letters may indicate a more creative, artistic nature, while pointed letters suggest someone who is intense and analytical (Source: https://www.pens.com/blog/handwriting-infographic/).

Handwriting can also reveal class and education level. Neat, consistent script may belong to an upper class character with good schooling, while messy, irregular writing could represent a lower class individual without much formal education. The pressure and texture of the strokes can also indicate emotion – heavier pressure when upset or excited versus light, delicate strokes when calm or tentative.

Furthermore, handwriting evolves over time as characters experience growth and change. For example, a character’s script may become messier and less controlled during times of stress or chaos. On the other hand, improved penmanship could signal a transition to more discipline and focus in someone’s life. Paying attention to these handwriting signals allows readers to better understand personalities.

Setting the Scene

One of the most unique uses of handwriting in literature is its ability to establish the time period, location, and overall context of the story. Authors can use particular scripts and letterforms to immediately give readers a sense of when and where the story is taking place.

For example, a text written in Blackletter would signal to readers that the setting is medieval Europe. According to the University of Nottingham, Blackletter was used extensively in documents and manuscripts from the 12th to 14th centuries across Germany, England, and other parts of Europe. Its elaborate Gothic style letters are unmistakable.¹

On the other hand, a passage written in cursive Copperplate indicates 18th or early 19th century America. This elegant, flourished handwriting style was taught in schools during that era and used by important figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Beyond denoting a time period, handwriting can also quickly establish a geographical setting. The pointed glyphs of Sütterlin would place the reader in early 20th century Germany, while the connected Arabic script would signal the Middle East. The possibilities are endless.

In just a few lines, authors can use letterforms to transport readers to another era or part of the world. Handwriting styles set the scene in literature unlike any other literary technique.

Plot and Theme

An author’s unique handwriting style can be used as a plot device or to symbolically represent themes in a literary work. For example, in Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations, the main character Pip strives to improve his handwriting as he progresses from a common laborer to a gentleman. His crude, unpracticed hand represents his humble origins, while his later graceful script symbolizes his education and refinement. As Pip transforms his outer appearance to match his new social status, his handwriting likewise transforms to reflect his inner development.

Another example is in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, where the title character uses her graceful handwriting as a child to rebel against her strict aunt and affirm her identity. Her flowing script is discussed as an expression of her passion and creativity, in contrast to her cousin’s rigid hand that symbolizes a lack of imagination. A character’s handwriting can thus become a symbolic representation of the themes of self-discovery, transformation, and self-expression that authors seek to convey (The Jotted Line, 2022).

Author Intent

An author’s choice of handwriting style for their characters can reveal a great deal about that character’s personality, background, emotions, or role in the story. As one example, Vladimir Nabokov handwrote his novel Lolita from the first-person perspective of Humbert Humbert in an elegant cursive style that evoked Humbert’s sophistication and arrogance. Though at times charming, this handwriting thinly veiled Humbert’s distorted inner world and served as an embodiment of his delusional narrative voice. Conversely, in her acclaimed Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling opted to write letters from the villainous Dolores Umbridge in ornate calligraphy which exposed Umbridge’s falsely sweet exterior and underlying malevolence [1]. An author’s careful selection of a handwriting style appropriate for each character demonstrates their mastery of using subtle textual details to convey broader themes and shape the reader’s experience.

Other authors like Stephen King will alternate between handwriting and typing drafts as a way to experiment with perspective and voice. King has noted that writing longhand feels more intimate, while typing evokes a separation between author and story [2]. This change in medium and technique intentionally allows King to explore different aspects of a narrative and character. Ultimately an author’s handwriting choices for their characters, whether uniform or shifting, provide insights into authorial intent and how they wish to guide readers through their fictional world.

[1] “8 Legendary Authors You Wouldn’t Believe Write in Longhand.” Medium, 24 Sept. 2019, https://medium.com/big-self-society/8-legendary-authors-you-wouldnt-believe-write-in-longhand-902db0f643c.

[2] “Authors Who Handwrite Manuscripts.” Hannah Fielding, 23 Mar. 2017, https://hannahfielding.net/authors-who-handwrite-manuscripts/.

Unique Styles

Fictional stories often contain rich descriptions of a character’s unique handwriting style to bring them to life. For example, in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the lead character Elizabeth Bennet is described as having “a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous” and this comes across in her “untidy”, “bold” and “rapid” handwriting style (https://www.dayspringpens.com/blogs/the-jotted-line/handwriting-styles). Dracula by Bram Stoker describes the dangerous Count’s “peculiar sharp handwriting” with letters “bold and firmly formed” matching his forceful personality. Emily Bronte vividly describes Heathcliff’s handwriting in Wuthering Heights as “a half-civilized ferocity” with “firm, steady characters” mirroring his fierce intensity and barely contained emotions. Analyzing these unique fictional styles provides insight into the characters’ personalities and inner lives.

Readability

Readability is critical in a literary work, as it affects the pacing and comprehension for readers. Handwriting styles can greatly impact the readability and flow of a story. For example, messy or illegible handwriting can disrupt the reading process, causing readers to slow down or struggle to decipher words.

According to a 2020 study published in Frontiers in Psychology, handwriting legibility has a significant relationship with spelling and composing skills (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01097). The researchers found that students with more legible handwriting tended to have better spelling and writing abilities. This suggests that legible handwriting supports stronger literacy skills that contribute to the readability of a text.

Conversely, sloppy or illegible handwriting can impair readability and engagement. Readers may become frustrated or overwhelmed trying to decode words, which disrupts the flow. This emphasizes the importance of legible handwriting for authors, especially for long-form fiction works where readability is key to pacing and retention.

Special Cases

One genre where handwriting style takes on special importance is the epistolary novel, where the story is told through a series of documents such as letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings, etc. Rather than narration, the reader learns about the characters and plot through the intimate lens of their handwritten notes and letters. According to the OSU site, the first English epistolary novel is considered to be Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister, published in 1684 (https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-epistolary-novel).

In epistolary novels, the handwriting style of each character becomes an essential way to distinguish different perspectives and deepen characterization. As explained by MasterClass, “An epistolary novel allows the reader to experience the story from within the minds of many characters, learning details through their distinct voices.” Therefore, details like messy handwriting, sophisticated calligraphy, or swashes and curls can reveal personality quirks and inner thoughts. The reader piecing together the narrative through these fragmented documents makes the individual writing styles pivotal. MasterClass recommends exploring multiple forms when writing an epistolary novel to take full advantage of this format (https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-an-epistolary-novel).

Conclusion

In summary, this overview of handwriting analysis in literature has examined historical context, unique styles, readability, plot, theme, author intent, and special cases. As we have seen, analyzing handwriting can provide insight into the personalities of literary characters as well as the authors themselves. It sheds light on everything from broader themes and writing style to specific word choice and punctuation. Ultimately, the practice reveals the intimate connections between handwriting and the human experience.

While literary handwriting analysis has been the focus here, the techniques and concepts can be applied more widely. Many businesses now use handwriting analysis in hiring decisions to assess applicant personality traits and skills. Criminal investigators sometimes use handwriting analysis to help identify ransom note authors. Even in everyday life, greater awareness of how handwriting reflects personality can help us better understand our friends, family, and colleagues.