or "SLANT"
General
The slant of a writing is perhaps the easiest feature of all to recognise and to assess, and the hardest to interpret accurately - because the basic meaning is so very broad that it can have many different applications.
Dr Eric Singer gives some indications in his book "A Manual of Graphology", of the way in which the meaning can be modified by the influence of other features, and Saudek ("Experiments with Writing") also talks of the ease with which "slant" can be altered in comparison with other features of handwriting. But these really only only touch the surface of the problem. It has been argued that slant should be treated as just another right or left tendency and not to attach so much importance to it as a separate feature, especially when it fluctuates. When consistent, however, it is usually a reliable indication of an underlying and basic attitude towards the writer's fellow man. But, the actual interpretation will depend upon whether the slant indications are corroborated or contradicted by other features as to whether the writer's "introversive" or "extraversive" attitude is expressed overtly, or is merely a representation of the ideal, perhaps made impossible for him to express openly because of his fears and doubts.
The slope of handwriting can easily be altered at will, to disguise it or for any other reason, but the will to do so has to persist. Most people have a natural slope to which they revert when not thinking about it.
As a rule, right slant is measured as being between 0 and 90 degrees (which is vertical of course), and left slope as more than 90 degrees (with 0 degrees to the right of the protractor and 180 degrees to the left). However, some graphologists have adopted the opposite system, whilst others measure so-many degrees away from the vertical, i.e. to the right or left of upright. This should be ascertained before assuming that all authors, for example, have measured in the above suggested manner.
Standards vary with nationalities to some extent, but between 85 and 95 degrees is near enough to vertical, between 60 and 85 degrees is a reasonable right slope, anything less than 60 is getting excessive or "marked". Normal left slant is usually reckoned to be 95 to 100, and anything more than this (i.e. greater than 100 degrees) needs to be noticed. Extreme left slope is rare, and there may often be some physical cause. Left-handedness or some disability is the first thing that should be suspected as a possible precondition, before assuming a character interpretation.
The other point is that extraversion is a very broad term, and the extravert is not always interested in his fellow man. He may well be quite indifferent to other people but very interested in things, his job, his hobbies, in a way that takes him completely out of himself. This is worth noting as mistakes can easily be made. Especially in the angular, accurate, narrow writing of some engineer types: does a right slope indicate this form of extraversion?
It is also worth recapping at this point, the fact that no single movement is ever taken to indicate anything definite about the writer, unless it can be supported by other corroborating factors in the script which have the same interpretation. To follow on from this, the right slant can indicate extraversiveness, but if other factors in the writing contradict this, e.g. microscopic middle zone (i.e. less than 1-2mm in height), or narrow, angular or disconnected writing, then we have what are termed "counter-dominants" which can indicate a desire on one hand (i.e. the right slant) with an inhibition on the other hand (e.g. narrow writing, disconnected, tiny m/z, etc) which holds the writer back. In other words, we see "ambivalance" in the writing with the "counter-dominants" often serving to indicate the ‘seat of conflict’ within the personality. However, such contradictory movements also help to demonstrate that a right slant alone does not necessarily indicate the extravert, nor the left slant an introvert.
Apart from these remarks the following detail is all derived from Dr Singer’s books or teaching.
| Independence | Plegm |
| Living in the present | Apathy |
| Reasonableness | Coldness |
| Cool judgement | Lack of Sympathy |
| Discrimination | Laziness |
| Controlled Emotions |
| Getting on | Haste |
| Activity | Busybody |
| Social achievement | Escape into activities |
| Initiative | Care about the future |
| Altruism | Weakness of will |
| Sympathy | Excitability |
| Eagerness and interest | Hysteria |
| Contemplation | Disinclination to get out of one’s shell |
| Inner life | Desire for security or protection |
| Introspection | Complexes arising from early experience |
| Capability for self-sacrifice | Affectation |
| Fears and hesitation | |
| Emotional immaturity | |
| Difficult to know well | |
| Mother ties | |
| Insincerity |
| Liveliness | Moodiness |
| Many interests | Lack of steadiness |
| Spasmodic sociability | Neurotic changes |
| Lack of integration |
| Also: Inner conflict between sentiment and reason |
| between ideals and practical considerations |
The feature is often apparent in the writing of children of parents of widely different temperaments that they could not reconcile, and may remain throughout life.
| Right Slant | = | "Compliant" |
| Upright | = | "Reliant" |
| Left Slant | = | "Defiant" |
If you have enjoyed this brief introduction, and would like to take a serious course of instruction, details of tuition are available. The Institute offers a series of examinations leading to Diploma for those students who successfully complete all stages.
