A verbal portrait is a description of the external features of a person and the accompanying characteristics that reflect individual characteristics. This concept is widespread in such sciences as literary criticism, forensic science and physiognomy.
In the practice of investigating offenses, the main function of a verbal portrait is to identify a person in order to search for and detain persons hiding from justice, as well as to identify missing people. The first methodology for describing the appearance of a person was proposed by A. Bertilny, later it was repeatedly revised, but the basic principles remained unchanged. The essence of the method lies in the fact that the whole variety of signs characterizing the appearance is summarized in several main groups: the shape and color of each part of the body, figure, gait, characteristic features, etc.
A verbal portrait of a person has long remained the only way to identify a person. With the development of photography and the invention of fingerprinting, it began to be used much less frequently. But even now, this method is used in forensics, especially when urgent search activities are carried out, when there is no time to obtain more complete data.
Literary verbal portrait has an emotionally characterizing function. Any author is faced with the problem of describing the characters in his book. Moreover, a literary portrait should very fully characterize the hero so that readers can imagine not only the general appearance, but also various small details, facial expressions, movements, as well as personal qualities. Such a description is a real art if the author is capable of literally reviving the character of his work with five or six sentences.
How to make a verbal portrait?
It would seem that compiling a description of a person is an easy task, but in reality it is not so simple. Try to make a verbal portrait of a friend, relative or any person you often see from memory - you will encounter the problem of choosing the right language. When describing a specific person, you need to adhere to several rules:
- Indicate gender, age, race, and height and physique.
- Describe the shape of the head, the length and color of hair, hairstyle, etc.
- Tell us in detail about the face: form, contours, fullness. Note the smaller details: the shape of the eyebrows, lips and nose, especially the teeth, chin, ears, etc.
- Describe the distinctive features of other parts of the body: legs, arms, shoulders, back and chest.
- Supplement the characteristic with specific signs: gait, facial expressions, posture, voice, etc.
- Do not forget to indicate special signs: scars, tattoos, moles, lack of fingers, piercings, lameness, etc.
- In some cases, a description of the clothes is required: form, color, inscriptions, etc.
When drawing up a verbal portrait, one must proceed from the principle of completeness of description. However, do not heap up the signs characteristic of many people, on the contrary, it is worth noting those features that will individualize the person as much as possible.