Vignettes

Death of penmanship

R. S. Karunaratne

The very word `penmanship' may not have any meaning to the present generation using word processors, laptops, and various other gadgets to register their thoughts or write down notes in class rooms. Fountain pens widely used about three decades ago are rarely seen these days. Except for the ubiquitous ballpoint pens we do use any other instruments to improve our penmanship.

Penmanship or the art of writing by hand has a checkered history. Originally, the art of writing or calligraphy was applied to individual letters as well as to entire documents. Over a long period of evolution a speedier script called `cursive writing' was developed by writers. This writing was initially used for correspondence. When Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman emperor in 800, he ordered the English scholar Alcuin of York to reform handwriting and to have it taught to all government officials and to everyone in the monastery schools. The writing was slightly sloped, extremely rhythmic, and clear. The writers joined the letters now and then and began to write speedily.

During the renaissance Italian scribes developed an elegant and slightly sloped cursive style which came to be known as `italic' later. This style soon spread throughout Europe. In the 18th century calligraphic scripts continued to serve as models for style designs. Students who used quill pens could not follow the style easily. However, with the invention of the fountain pen, hand writing could not be considered calligraphy any longer. Even when the typewriter was invented in the 20th century, handwriting played an important part in education. In fact, cursive writing was revived in some of the British schools. Later this spread to the United States.

In the digital age the fountain pen has died a natural death and even authors are using computers to compile books and other material. Even birth certificates are computer generated and banks send us statements without anyone's signature. At the bottom of the statement there is a note to say that a signature is not necessary as it is a computer printout.

Handwriting has already become a lost art. Most teachers and students write block letters known as `baby writing'. Even the copy writing books available in the market today are not the ones we used some fifty years ago. I started my cursive writing course with the Royal Crown Copy Writing Books in the 1940s and I consider penmanship is a major part of a writer's career. However, today's journalists cannot be called `scribes' because they no longer write with pens. They simply tap some letters on the keyboard of a computer and take out a printout or pass his copy on line to the editor.

When penmanship was in vogue, another important branch of learning was evolved. That was graphology - the study of handwriting in order to understand people's character. I think with the demise of penmanship graphology is also dying. Your handwriting reveals whether you are a reserved, gregarious, secretive or talkative person. One who is familiar with graphology can judge your character traits when you leave wide spaces between words and write in the margin of a page. What is more by looking at a person's handwriting you could come to the conclusion whether the writer is aggressive, ambitious, artistic, cultured, dishonest, diplomatic or egotistic.

Today even the leading English medium schools do not seem to pay any attention to students' handwriting. As a result, you can see a generation of students writing block letters all over the page. This kind of baby writing takes us nowhere. Even when a parent wants to buy a decent English copy writing book, what he finds is a poor imitation of the old Royal Crown Copy Writing series.

Writing English words in a Royal Crown Copy Book with a pen fitted with a `G' nib, and dipping it into a bottle of ink every now and then gave us immense pleasure. After a long and laborious process of writing those curved letters we learnt the art of cursive writing the hard way. For practical reason we may not be able to go back to those good old days. However, the fact remains that there is a need for cursive writing even in this digital age.

Although I am compelled to use a computer today, I still prefer to write my column in long hand in the first instance. When your copy is typed on a computer it is neat but it lacks personal touch. However, the world is in a flux. We have to change with changing times.

Although the death knell has been sounded on penmanship, I still prefer to write my personal letters using my old fountain pen.