HANDWRITING & GRAPHOLOGY
Handwriting loops: upper, lower, open and closed
Loops are enclosed spaces made by a returning pen stroke. Compare their position, width, height and closure in upper stems, lower descenders and signature flourishes.
Compare the visible forms
A return encloses space above the body band.
An enclosed tail sits below the writing line.
The return remains separated from its starting stroke.
What to inspect
Look at l and h above the body band, and g and y below it. A loop can be broad, narrow, flattened or absent. Follow the actual return stroke: a neighboring letter or crossbar may create an enclosed ink space that is not one letter’s loop.
Separate the measurements
Open loops have a gap in the returning outline; closed loops enclose an interior. Compare the opening at the same image scale. A filled narrow loop can appear closed because of thick ink, blur or overlapping strokes.
The traditional graphology reading
Traditional graphology connects upper loops with the expression of ideas and lower loops with material or physical themes. Broad and narrow loops add different emphasis within that tradition. Read the loop alongside its body height and the rest of the word.
Try a sample comparison
Find three l forms and three y forms. Record the height, width and opening of each loop relative to the lowercase body. Compare any large signature loop with those ordinary letters.