The Art of Letters

What exactly is art? A painting? A symphony? A novel? How about a letter? It may seem hard to believe at first, but a letter can actually be considered art. Why is letter-writing an art? To answer that question, one has to look at the many elements of art. There are many elements to letter writing. These elements many include the design of the stationary, the handwriting styles that are used, the phrasing of the letter, the envelope appearance and the stamps that are used.

The design of the stationary that one uses can be just as important as the wording of the letter itself. After all, when someone receives a letter, the first impression that is made depends on what the stationary looks like. One example of this is when a woman is widowed.  The stationary usually has a thick border that surrounds the actual letter and as she accepts the death and the mourning period starts to go away, the border will recede with it. An example from modern times is wedding invitations. They tend to be fancier stationary and have calligraphy writing and some sort of elegant design.

When you open a letter, one of the first things that you will notice is the writing. Is it typed or is it handwritten? If it is handwritten is it written very neatly or really messy? Is it written in cursive, calligraphy, or printed? The handwriting is as unique as the writer’s personality. The handwriting can convey more meaning than just the words themselves. If the letter is written really neatly then you know that the writer spent some time on the letter; if it is really messy, then the writer was most likely rushed. Was the letter typed? If so, it is most likely a business or professional letter, or a mass produced letter. Typing is probably the fastest method for letter writing.

Phrasing is a very important part of letter writing. A letter is all about the message written inside. The way the message is phrased can usually be construed in many different ways depending on how it is written. We found an example of a letter from a boy to his girlfriend. He knew that his girlfriend’s dad would read the letter and that her dad did not like the boyfriend. Knowing this, the boyfriend sent a love letter in disguise as a break-up letter. He wrote the true love letter on every other line and made other lines fit in around them so that it sounded like a break up letter. Moral… be careful how you phrase letters.

The envelope appearance is also a very important component to letters. The envelope is like the wrapping on a gift and most definitely the first impression when you receive a letter. Sometimes you can immediately tell what kind of letter you have received just by the appearance of the letter. If the envelope is a very fancy envelope then most likely it is a wedding invitation, or at least an invitation to a big event. If the envelope is a funky shape then it may be a birthday card. If it is little then it may be a thank you note. If it is just really colorful or just really plain, then it may be a birthday card or a letter just saying hey. If it is a simple plain longer envelope it is most probably a business letter or a bill of some sort.

What is a letter without a stamp? It isn’t anything because it can’t be mailed without a stamp. Stamps can come in many shapes and sizes. They can have pictures on them or even ink stamps over them to indicate that the letter has been censored, or if it has been sent first class, or if has gone through another area or place. Often multiple stamps will be combined with each other to add up to the correct postage cost and in so doing, create another impression of the person it is from. The design of the stamps that someone uses gives you a glimpse at the personality of the sender. They might use stamps with animals on them if they like animals or give money to a animal rescue organization. They might use a stamp with a flag on it to indicate where they are or where they’ve been or where they are from. They might send a letter with a stamp that has a simple symbol on it like a heart or a peace sign or a smiley face. There are many different kinds of stamps out there and they all say something different.

Letter writing is most definitely an art. The art has changed and evolved in many different ways over the years and the desire to write letters has changed as the world has evolved into a technologically advanced society. The art of letter writing may go into a coma, but it will never die. The next time you receive a letter, don’t just read the message inside, think about how much the whole package says. Think about what the stamp and the envelope and the handwriting and the phrasing really mean… who knows, you might be surprised.

Works Cited

"Love Letter." Anvari.org. 1999-2009. Ahmad Anvari, Web. 10 Oct 2009.

<http://www.anvari.org/fun/Truth/Love_Letter.html>.