HANDWRITING & GRAPHOLOGY
Handwriting zones: upper, middle and lower
Handwriting has a middle zone for everyday lowercase bodies, an upper zone for tall stems and a lower zone for descenders. Compare their height and width within the same sample.
Compare the visible forms
The tall stem extends above the body line.
An oval occupies the body band.
The tail extends beneath the baseline.
What to inspect
Use a, e, n and o to locate the body band. The stems and loops of b, d, h and l rise above it. Parts of g, j, p, q and y descend below it. Some writers simplify or loop these extensions in different ways.
Separate the measurements
A tall capital is an opening emphasis, while an upper-zone stem belongs to the body of a word. Compare extension height to lowercase body height rather than to the size of the photograph. Also distinguish a wide loop from a long straight stem.
The traditional graphology reading
Traditional graphology reads upper-zone emphasis in relation to ideas, middle-zone emphasis in relation to everyday activity, and lower-zone emphasis in relation to material or physical themes. First identify which repeated forms create the apparent emphasis.
Try a sample comparison
Choose three h letters and three y letters. Mark the body band, measure each extension against it, and record whether the loop is broad, narrow or absent. Compare those observations with the whole page.