The word humanities comes from the Latin humanus, which means human, culture, and refined.

To be
human is to have or show qualities like rationality, kindness, and tenderness.

The term Humanities generally refers to art, literature, music, architecture, dance and the theatre –
these are the areas in which human subjectivity is emphasize and individual expressiveness is
dramatized. The importance of the human being and his feelings is the main concern of the humanities.

Art (as an area of humanities) is very important in our lives. It constitutes one of the oldest and most
important means of expression developed by man.

ART involves personal experiences of an individual accompanied by some intensity of emotion.

Art is made by man, no matter how close it is to nature.

Art, like love, is not easy to define. It concerns itself with the communication of certain ideas and
feelings by means of a sensuous medium..

The art that we perceive through our eyes is called the visual art and architecture is one part of it.

Through the ideas selected by painters and sculptors and the forms they create, they express the ideals,
the hopes, and the fears of the times in which they live.

Another form of the more important arts is music. This is the art of combining and regulating sounds of
varying pitch to produce composition, expressing various ideas and emotions

Like the other arts, music deals with emotions. It’s being a “pure art” enables it to convey emotions
with great intensity and can affect people directly.

Dance is another form of art that is common to man even during the earliest times. It is the most direct
of the arts for it makes use of the human body as its medium. It springs from our love for expressive
gestures, release of tension through rhythmic movement.

The most common in five areas of arts is the arts are concerned with emotions, with our feelings about
things.

An artist is a person who exhibits exceptional skills in design, drawing, painting, etc. or one works in one
of the performing arts, like an actor or musician.

There are two kinds of artists – creators and performers.

Creativity is an artist’s trait developed in the course of her life to solve problems or express her feelings.
Her continuing reaction to emerging conditions of nature and social life gives birth to new ideas and new
methods.

The process of creativity is threefold, with the artist as the prime mover, communicating her ideas
through the performer, as her interpreter to the audience.
The Process of Creation

1. The artist must have an idea

2. He must have a material to work on
3. He must give form to his ideas

Playwrights and novelists have always been concerned with the frailties of the human being, with his
hopes and fears, his courage and cowardice, his charity, and greed.

A painter uses pigments; a sculptor uses stone, metal or wood; an architect, various building materials.

sculpture is an art of space. music is an art of time..

the visual arts are those that we perceive with our eyes. They may be classified into two groups;
graphic (flat, or two –dimensional surface) and plastic arts (three-dimensional)

1.The Graphic Arts. Broadly, this term convey any form of visual artistic representation, especially
painting, drawing , photography, etc. or in which portrayals of forms and symbols are recorded on a
two-dimensional surface. Printers also use the term graphics arts to describe all processes and product
of the printing industry.

a. Painting. This is process of applying pigment to a surface to secure effects involving forms and color.

b. Drawing is the art representing something by lines made on a surface or the process of portraying an
object, scene, or forms of decorative or symbolic meaning through lines, shading, and textures in one or
more color.

c. Graphic processes. These are processes for making multi-reproduction of graphic works. Processes
may be classified by the nature of the surface from which the printing is done: raised (relief); depressed
(intaglio); or flat (surface, or plane)

(1)Relief printing is the process whereby unwanted portions of design are cut away on the master
image.

(2)Intaglio printing is a method of printing from a plate on which incised lines, which carry the ink,
leave a raised impression.

(a) dry point. Here the artist draws directly on a metal plate with a sharp needle and scratches lines,
or grooves into the metal. For each print,ink is rubbed into the grooves and the unscratched surface is
wiped clean.In printing,the ink in the grooves is transferred to paper.

(b) Etching. This is the art or process of producing drawing or design on metal plates covered with
wax.The needle penetrates wax to the surface of the plate.The plate is then dipped in acid,which eats
the lines into the metal.For printing,etched lines are filled with ink which is transferred to the paper.

(c)Engraving. This is done on a metal plate with a cutting tool called a barin, which leaves a V-shaped
trough.Drawings on the plate are entirely composed of lins and/or dots.
(3)Surface printing includes all processes in which printing in done from a flat (plane) surface.

d. Interior Design. The term is used to designate design and arrangement of architectural interiors for
convenience and beauty.

e. Sculpture refers to the design and construction of three dimensional forms representing natural
object or imaginary ( sometimes abstract) shapes.

f. Crafts. The term refers to the designing and making of objects by hand for use or for pleasure..

g. Industrial design refers to design of object for machine production.

h. Dress and Costume Design. This covers the design of wearing apparel of all types – dresses, coats,
suits, shoes, ties, etc.

i. Theater Design is the design of settings for dramatic productions.

Literature

The art of combining spoken or written words and their meanings into forms which have artistic and
emotional appeal is called literature.

1. Drama is a form of literature but it is listed and defined in the next page

2.Essay. This is non-fiction, expository (descriptive or explanatory) writing ranging from informal,
personal topics to closely reasoned critical treatments of important subject.

3. Prose Fiction includes narratives (stories) created by the author, as distinguished from true accounts.

4. Poetry is literature of a highly expressive nature using special forms and choice of words and
emotional images.

5. Miscellaneous: history, biography, letters, journals, diaries, and other works not formally classified as
literature often have define literary appeal and status due to the high quality of the writing.

Music

Music is the art of arranging sound in rhythmic succession and generally in combination.

1.Vocal Music is composed primarily to be sung. The voice or voices are generally accompanied by one
or more instrument.

2. Instrumental Music. Music of the kind is written for instruments of four general types – keyboard
(piano, organ, etc.); string (violin, cello, guitar, etc.); wind (trumpet, saxophone, etc.); percussion
(drums, xylophone).
3. Music Combined with Other Arts

a. Opera is a drama set to music . It is mostly or entirely sung with orchestral accompaniment.

b. Operetta and Musical Comedy. This is also a drama set to music but is light, popular, romantic, and
often humorous or comic.

c. Oratorio and Cantata are sacred musical drama in the concert form.

4. Other forms of arts are the ballet music and background music for motion pictures.

Drama and Theater

A drama, or play, is a story re-created by actors on stage in front of an audience. The following are
the most common types of drama.

1. Tragedy. This is one of literature’s greatest dramatic art forms. Its is a drama of serious nature in
which the central character comes to some sad or disastrous end.

2. Melodrama. In this type of drama, the emphasis is on action rather than on character. The
action is sensational or romantic and usually has a happy ending.

3. Comedy generally includes all plays with happy endings.

4. The Romantic Comedy is a light, amusing tale lovers in some dilemma which is finally solve
happily.

5. Farce is a light, humorous play. The emphasis in a farce is on jokes, humorous physical action,
ludicrous situations, and improbable characters.

6. Comedy of Manners sometimes called “drawing room comedy” is sophisticated, sometimes

satirical.

4. Miscellaneous:

a. Tragicomedy. A drama blending tragic and comic elements but which ends happily.

b. Miracle and Mystery plays are dramatized stories from the Bible and of the lives of saints.

c. Morality Play are those in which characters represent specific vices and virtues.

d. Closet Drama is a term used to designate plays written for reading rather than for staging.

e. Piano Drama is based on piano works which revolve around the musical pieces composed under the
inspiration of a literary work.
5. Musical Comedy refers to those dances performed by soloists, groups, the choruses in theaters, night
clubs, motion pictures, and television. It combines various forms of ballet, modern, tap, and acrobatics.