RHVTHM AND FORM OUACITV

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writing with shakiness and uneven or lighter pressure. Many older people suffer from depression, which shows in drooping baselines; others toward the end of their lives intensify religious feelings and will emphasize upward strokes at the end of words, looking heavenward for answers. Preoccupation with the body leads to swelling lower loops. It is difficult to separate the signs of normal aging from those of physical illness. The aged writer who feels well shows few rhythm changes, and the aged writer who is ill will have illness features overshadowing the natural decline of age.

Above is the nineteenth century Spencerian script of a twemty yearsld man. Below is the same writer at the age of sixty-eight.

s Below I the writing of a vigorous seventy year-old man.

RHYTHM AND FORM LEVEL: PHYSICAL ILLNESS, DRUGS, AND A L C O H O L

Physical Illness. Injury to the body most often changes the rhythm and form quality in the zone of the writing which corresponds to the injured area. Heart disease, circulatory problems, and nerve disease distribute their signs throughout the zones. Sometimes the t bars of sick people become longer and stronger as their will to live is kindled; details like periods are omitted by some writers through fatigue, anxiety, or a growing fear of endings. Anxious preoccupation with body functions leads to swelling of lower zone loops, erratic pressure, shakes and tremors, and signs of depression.