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Chapter 7—Selecting Human Resources

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. The process of choosing individuals with correct qualifications to fill jobs in an organization is called
_____.
a. recruitment
b. selection
c. job matching
d. attrition
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

2. The purpose of selection is _____, fitting a person to the right job.

a. placement
b. orientation
c. recruitment
d. staffing
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

3. More than anything else, placement of human resources should be seen as a(n):
a. public relations activity.
b. operating management responsibility.
c. matching process.
d. marketing tool.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

4. Lack of fit between a person and a job is most likely to result from:
a. mistakes in evaluating the person’s KSAs.
b. improper employee training.
c. negligence of exit interviews.
d. a lack of a positive company “brand” that attracts qualified applicants.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

5. Mark is unhappy with his new job as a first line supervisor at a call center. Mark finds the job boring
and longs for the end of his shift every day. He wants to apply for another job either within or outside
the organization. This is an example of:
a. a realistic job preview.
b. burnout.
c. negligent hiring.
d. a poor person/job fit.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01
 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Application

6. Voltra Inc. is planning to fill a number of openings for entry-level professionals. The selection process
is quite extensive and includes several levels of individual interviews, panel interviews, psychological
tests, and general ability tests. Much of the interview time is spent on the applicant’s philosophy of life
and work. Voltra is highly concerned about:
a. defining who is an applicant.
b. complying with EEO and ADA requirements.
c. person/organization fit.
d. matching the person to the job.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Application

7. Jill graduated with an MBA during a severe economic recession. She accepted a job as a trainer for a
major national bank. Jill was one of the top candidates when she was hired by the bank. Three months
into her job, she feels that the individual bank customers are not valued, and that the bank engages in
misleading advertising. This is an example of:
a. poor person/organization fit.
b. a realistic job preview.
c. negligent hiring.
d. a snap judgment.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Application

8. Ability, intelligence, and conscientiousness are all examples of:

a. elements of job performance.
b. selection criteria.
c. predictors of selection criteria.
d. soft skills.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

9. Measurable or visible indicators of selection criteria are called:

a. reliable estimators.
b. predictors.
c. realistic job previews.
d. validators.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

10. Mary, the recruiter for Aurora Borealis Lighting Inc., decides to hire an individual who has the ability
to learn on the job. They estimate it will be two years before the new hire will be fully productive.
Consequently, they are looking to hire a person who will be with the company for at least four or five
years. Mary suggests that they only hire applicants who have been with their previous employers for at
least two years, and who have not changed their jobs too frequently. Mary’s suggestion is an example
of a:
 a. KSA.
b. soft skill.
c. realistic job preview.
d. predictor of selection criteria.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Application

11. In selection, validity refers to:

a. the strength of the correlation between a test score and a predictor.
b. the consistency with which the predictor actually tests the desired construct.
c. the applicant achieving approximately the same score in a test-retest situation.
d. the correlation between a predictor and job performance.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

12. Which of the following is a feature about validity?

a. The EEOC prefers concurrent validity over predictive validity studies of predictors.
b. Concurrent validity studies take much longer than do predictive studies of predictors.
c. Concurrent validity studies use the employer’s existing employees to test whether certain
predictors are tied to performance levels.
d. Both concurrent and predictive validity tests can be accurately run with as few as 15
employees.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

13. For the last five years, the HR manager at Fresh Foods has been asking all applicants to appear for a
test. The HR manager now intends to study the correlation between the test scores of those employees
that were hired and their performance appraisals and promotion records, and whether they have stayed
with the firm or have left. The HR manager is conducting a:
a. content validity test.
b. concurrent validity test.
c. face-validity test.
d. predictive validity test.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Application

14. The _____ of a test is the extent to which a predictor repeatedly produces the same results over time.
a. reliability
b. test validity
c. consistency
d. predictability
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
15. In the _____ approach for combining predictors, a minimum cutoff score is set on each predictor, and
to be considered, each minimum level must be “passed.”
a. universal predictor
b. compensatory
c. multiple hurdles
d. matching
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

16. For the position of firefighter in Redville, the physical requirements are rigorous and the selection
process involves many ability tests. Mark has a hearing impairment. This impairment alone caused
him to be disqualified, even though Mark passed all the other physical tests and pencil-and-paper tests
that were conducted earlier. This is an example of:
a. the compensatory approach to selection.
b. poor person/organization fit.
c. discrimination under the ADA.
d. the multiple hurdles approach of combining predictors.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Application

17. How does the compensatory approach combine predictors?

a. A minimum cutoff is set on each predictor
b. A higher score on one predictor offsets a lower score on another
c. The highest predictor scores for all test takers is used to set an average cutoff
d. Multiple hurdles are set to compensate for the different predictors
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

18. HR professionals are least likely to make the final hiring decisions when _____ positions are filled.
a. clerical
b. contract
c. entry-level
d. middle-management
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-01
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

19. The purpose of a _____ is to give applicants an accurate idea of the positive and negative aspects of a
job so that they can more accurately evaluate the employment situation.
a. job specification
b. realistic job preview
c. truth-in-hiring approach
d. job analysis
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-02
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
20. What is the main purpose of preemployment screening?
a. To provide a realistic job preview and discourage potential applicants who would be
dissatisfied with the job
b. To identify applicants with arrest records and convictions
c. To determine if applicants meet the minimum qualifications for job openings
d. To obtain information for EEO and affirmative action reports
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-02
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

21. A new Gulf Coast casino plans to hire over 1,000 employees for its new resort. The casino’s HR
department requires applicants to complete an online questionnaire which is later analyzed using
computer software and only those applicants who have previously worked in hotels and casinos are
considered eligible for the next step in the hiring process. This is an example of a:
a. compensatory approach to selection.
b. realistic job preview.
c. preemployment screening process.
d. multiple hurdles approach to selection.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-02
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Application

22. Which of the following is a fundamental purpose of an application form?

a. It forms the basis for an organization’s EEO/affirmative action plans.
b. It can be used as a defense in an ADA discrimination case.
c. It is a record of an employer’s desire to hire someone for an open position.
d. It acts as a basic employee record for applicants who are eventually hired.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-02
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

23. _____ means that the employer or applicant has the right to terminate employment at any time with or
without notice or cause (where applicable by state law).
a. Employment-at-will
b. Right-to-work
c. Free agency
d. Contingency employment
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-02
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

24. Greta is the new HR manager at a small company. The previous HR manager had kept every scrap of
paper that crossed his desk during the last ten years but Greta is determined to clear out the
unnecessary documents. Greta knows she should keep all applications and hiring-related documents
and records _____ before they can be discarded.
a. for one year
b. for three years
c. for five years
d. for seven years
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-02
 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Application

25. Roger, a new HR manager at Charlemagne Tools Inc., examines the application form that the company
has been using for the last two years. According to the guidelines set by the EEOC and various court
decisions, which of the following is an illegal question in the application form?
a. Have you ever been convicted of a felony?
b. Can you perform the duties of the job with accommodation?
c. What is your driver’s license number?
d. Who should we contact in case of emergency?
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-02
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Application

26. In verifying the identities and credentials of job applicants, employers must use the revised form I-9
for each employee hired and must:
a. permit annual audits of HR records by ICE agents.
b. send copies of all documents submitted by employees to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service within 48 hours of hiring.
c. determine whether a job applicant is a U.S. citizen, registered alien, or illegal alien, within
72 hours of hiring.
d. contact the Department of Homeland Security within 24 hours if an illegal alien applies
for a job with a government contractor in the transportation sector.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-02
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

27. Kevin, a recent college graduate, applied for a job with a firm which provides security to high-profile
individuals. During the selection process, he was given a test for visual memory. Tests such as these
are classified as:
a. psychomotor ability tests.
b. cognitive ability tests.
c. illegal tests that discriminate against the disabled.
d. work sample tests.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

28. _____ measure dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and arm-hand steadiness.

a. Physical ability tests
b. Work sample tests
c. Aptitude tests
d. Psychomotor tests
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

29. Amanda has applied for a job and has taken a number of selection tests. She has not been given a
conditional job offer. Which of the following tests can she refuse to take because it will be considered
illegal under the ADA?
a. A step test for endurance
 b. An English fluency test
c. A test to demonstrate her ability to use photo editing software
d. An honesty test
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

30. An “in-basket” test is an example of a _____ test.

a. psychological
b. psychomotor
c. work sample
d. physical ability
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

31. A(n) _____ is a selection and development device composed of a series of evaluative exercises and
tests in which candidates are evaluated by a panel of trained raters.
a. situational judgment test
b. assessment center
c. panel interview
d. work simulation
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-03
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

32. The purpose of a(n) _____ is to obtain additional information on a candidate and to clarify information
gathered throughout the selection process.
a. personality test
b. application form
c. selection interview
d. polygraph
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

33. Kent and Julie are both recruiters for Sunspree Corp. When both of them interview the same applicant,
they often find that they have different opinions about the applicant’s potential as a future high
performer for Sunspree. Kent and Julie demonstrate:
a. low inter-rater reliability.
b. high inter-rater reliability.
c. high intra-rater reliability.
d. low intra-rater reliability.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

34. Which of the following is true of all structured interviews?

a. All candidates meet with the same interviewer.
b. A set of standardized questions are asked of all job applicants.
 c. Each candidate appears before a panel of interviewers.
d. Questions are designed to address all of the Big Five personality traits.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

35. The great advantage of structured selection interviews over unstructured interviews is their:
a. naturalness and ability to set the candidate at ease.
b. effectiveness at organizational branding.
c. consistency in evaluation of candidates.
d. improvisational approach to gathering information about candidates.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

36. The _____ interview is more reliable and valid than the others types of interviews.
a. sequential
b. nondirective
c. stress
d. structured
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

37. Gerard, a job applicant, was asked to appear for an interview by an organization. Gerard spent the first
15 minutes of the job interview relating details about his education and work experience to the
interviewer. This is a _____ interview.
a. behavioral
b. competency
c. biographical
d. non-directive
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

38. Patrick, a job applicant, was asked by his interviewer, “In your previous job, how did you handle
employees who were poor performers?” Based on this information, what type of interview did Patrick
attend?
a. Behavioral interview
b. Biographical interview
c. Nondirective interview
d. Situational interview
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

39. In her interview for a position as a bartender at a luxury hotel bar, Megan was asked “What would you
do if one of the customers started slurring her words and began making off-color jokes that other
customers in the bar could hear?” Such types of questions are typically asked in _____ interviews.
a. behavioral
 b. nondirective
c. situational
d. stress
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

40. The selection process for hiring the assistant to the mayor of a large city includes giving the finalists
three hypothetical crisis scenarios. One deals with a terrorist threat at a sporting event, another deals
with a plane crash at the airport, and the third deals with a major earthquake. Each candidate must
describe her/his approach to handling the crisis, which will be recorded and evaluated by a panel. This
is an example of a:
a. competency interview.
b. behavioral interview.
c. stress interview.
d. situational interview.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

41. Gisela has just finished her interview with the managing editor of a large city newspaper. She is
shaken and upset because the editor talked about her educational background in an insulting tone. He
also pressured her to answer confusing questions without allowing her time to collect her thoughts.
Given this scenario, Gisela most likely attended a _____ interview.
a. behavioral
b. nondirective
c. biographical
d. stress
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

42. Which of the following types of selection interviews is unstructured?

a. Behavioral interview
b. Situational interview
c. Competency interview
d. Nondirective interview
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

43. Anthony was interviewing an applicant to be a volunteer docent (instructor and tour guide) for a large
art museum. During the course of the interview, the applicant began to discuss her interest in
introducing young children to great works of art. Anthony followed up with several questions about
how young children react to art, why she felt early exposure to art was important, and how she would
design situations for children to experience art. Anthony was conducting a _____ interview.
a. behavioral
b. nondirective
c. stress
d. structured
 ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

44. The position for City Manager of Scenic River attracted many applicants. As part of the selection
process, the applicants each appeared one-by-one before the entire Scenic River Board of Aldermen
for an interview. This is an example of a _____ interview.
a. panel
b. mass
c. biographical
d. situational
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

45. The interior decorators, designers, and architects of WorldKraft Design work together in
self-managing work groups. This structure is key to the organization’s culture, and it is important that
new hires fit in with the work group to which they are assigned. In this case, it would be wise to use:
a. multiple-hurdle interviews.
b. stress interviews.
c. biographical interviews.
d. team interviews.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

46. The problem of _____ occurs when interviewers make a decision on the job suitability of applicants
within the first few minutes of the interview and spend the balance of the interview looking for
evidence to support it.
a. cultural noise
b. snap judgment
c. stereotyping
d. negative emphasis
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

47. Which of the following occurs when an interviewer allows a positive characteristic about a job
applicant to overshadow other evidence?
a. Halo effect
b. Cultural noise
c. Similarity bias
d. Snap judgment
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

48. Which of the following occurs when interviewers favor or select people whom they believe to be like
themselves on the basis of a variety of personal factors?
a. Halo effect
b. Cultural noise
 c. Similarity bias
d. First impression error
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-04
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

49. The main legal reason for performing a thorough background check of all applicants is:
a. to comply with the Immigration and Naturalization Act.
b. to avoid résumé fraud.
c. to prevent discrimination against protected classes.
d. to protect the organization against charges of negligent hiring.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-05
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Background Investigations
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

50. A school district hired a school bus driver without conducting a multi-state criminal background
check; a background check was conducted only in the state in which the school was located.
Subsequently, the school bus driver was convicted of kidnapping one of the children who traveled in
his bus. The prosecution in the case revealed that the driver had been convicted ten years ago for a
similar case in another state. The school district is guilty of:
a. information falsification.
b. stereotyping.
c. compensatory hiring.
d. negligent hiring.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-05
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Background Investigations
KEY: Bloom's: Application

51. Angus has been a bus driver for a tour bus company for the last 15 years and has an excellent driving
record. Last year, Angus was on medical leave for 8 weeks due to a back injury which has left him in
chronic pain. If Angus has an accident while driving one of the tour buses because of the effects of his
prescription pain medication and if passengers are injured, the company might be liable for:
a. failure to conduct a thorough background check on Angus.
b. negligent hiring.
c. criminal negligence.
d. negligent retention.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-05
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Background Investigations
KEY: Bloom's: Application

52. Which of the following statements is true about medical examinations and inquiries?
a. A company may require applicants to take a drug test even before a conditional job offer
has been made.
b. A preemployment health checklist can be required of applicants before a job offer is made,
but physical medical exams cannot be requested until a job has been conditionally offered.
c. A drug test is considered a medical exam and cannot be administered unless a conditional
job offer has been made.
d. Companies may ask questions about an applicant’s current medical condition but not
about past medical problems, even after a conditional job offer has been made.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-05
 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Background Investigations
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

53. Morgan, the best candidate for the position of director of marketing, has tested positive for the
presence of illegal drugs in a hair sample. Given this scenario, the HR manager should:
a. notify Morgan that he was denied the job because of a positive drug test.
b. inform Morgan that someone else has been hired.
c. hire Morgan and inform him of the company’s Employee Assistance program.
d. ask Morgan to submit to a second type of drug test at another laboratory.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-05
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Background Investigations
KEY: Bloom's: Application

54. Carrie phoned an applicant’s former supervisor for a reference. The supervisor refuses to give any
information about the former employee. What mistake may Carrie have made?
a. She did not get a signed consent form from the applicant releasing the former supervisor
from liability.
b. She limited her request for information to dates of employment, positions held, and the
applicant’s previous job title rather than asking for particular examples of good or poor
performance.
c. She contacted the supervisor by phone rather than in writing or via email, thus opening the
supervisor to a charge of slander by the applicant.
d. Former supervisors rarely provide useful information, so it is not an effective use of
Carrie’s time to pursue this contact.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-05
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Background Investigations
KEY: Bloom's: Application

55. What is the main purpose of an applicant flow form?

a. To report applicant demographic data to the EEOC
b. To document that the employer asked each applicant to voluntarily provide demographic
data
c. To use the protected class status of individuals to make hiring decisions
d. To collect EEO data that the applicant is required by law to provide
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-06
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Legal Concerns in the Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

TRUE/FALSE

1. In selection, a predictor is a characteristic that a person must have to perform a job successfully.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

2. Reliability is the ability of a test to produce the same results repeatedly over time.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-01

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
3. “Aaron might not be the sharpest person I know, since his cognitive scores are pretty low. But he
showed wonderful interpersonal skills with guests in our simulations. I suggest that we hire him, and
give him some intense training on our desk procedures.” This is an example of the compensatory
approach to combining predictors of work performance.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Application

4. When operating managers are allowed to select their own staff, the effectiveness of the selection
process is enhanced because the operating managers have an instinctive feel for the type of employee
who would perform well in their department.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection and Placement
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

5. The brand of an organization is clarified and sharpened by realistic job previews that focus on both the
attractive and unattractive aspects of a job.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-02

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

6. Courts have ruled that disqualification questions that screen out potential job applicants before the
individuals even fill out a job application are discriminatory.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-02

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

7. Albert, a top-performing district manager, was fired when his employer learned that he had not
graduated with an MBA as Albert had indicated on his application form two years ago. The
employer’s application form contained a disclosure that falsification of application information was
grounds for termination. Albert’s attorney says that the employer’s termination of Albert is illegal
because application fraud is applicable only within the first year of employment with the employer.
Albert’s attorney is correct.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-02

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Application

8. According to the EEOC, if an applicant’s résumé voluntarily furnishes some information that cannot
be legally obtained, the employer should not use that information during the selection process.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-02

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

9. If employers do not use E-Verify to determine if an applicant is legally permitted to work in the U.S.,
the employer is considered to be in technical violation of federal law and can be audited by U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
 ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-02
NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: The Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

10. Ernest is applying for a carpentry apprenticeship program. He must take a test involving mathematical
calculations including working with fractions and geometry. This is illegal because carpentry is a
manual labor job and these tests are cognitive and not job-related.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

11. John has a minor hand tremor which affects his ability to write legibly. This hand tremor would most
likely lower John’s score on the MacQuarie Test for Mechanical Ability and disqualify him for jobs
requiring fine manual dexterity.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

12. On the Big Five personality framework, Bob has tested as broad-minded, curious, and original, which
would mean that he is extroverted.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Application

13. Organizations can use honesty/integrity tests to communicate to applicants and employees alike that
dishonesty will not be tolerated.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

14. The Employee Polygraph Protection Act prohibits employers, including federal, state, and local
government agencies, from using polygraphs for preemployment screening purposes.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-03

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

15. In general, the more structured a type of selection interview, the more likely it is to be statistically
valid.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-04

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

16. In a situational interview, applicants are required to give specific examples of how they have handled a
problem in the past.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-04

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
17. A nondirective interview allows the interviewer to improvise and pursue interesting nonroutine
discussions. Consequently, the nondirective interview is more likely to turn up critical information that
can be compared across applicants than a prepared list of questions.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-04

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

18. Listening responses such as mirroring and echoing may backfire for managers doing job interviews
because these responses give feedback to the applicant.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-04

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

19. Interviewers are legally allowed to ask applicants questions about their national origin and marital
status.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-04

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Selection Testing
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

20. It is legal for an employer to check a person’s Social Security number, motor vehicle records, and
military records when performing a background check on an applicant.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-05

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Background Investigations
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

21. Negligent hiring occurs when an employer becomes aware that an employee may be unfit for
employment but continues to employ the person, and the person injures someone on the job.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-05

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Background Investigations
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

22. The ADA prohibits the use of preemployment medical exams, except for drug tests, until a job has
been conditionally offered.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-05

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Background Investigations
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

23. Jennifer, the HR employee of a company, sends an offer letter to the applicant who is significantly
more promising than any of the other applicants. The letter welcomes the applicant to the company,
and reads, “We look forward to many years of a mutually-beneficial, productive relationship.” This
language is appropriate because there is no offer of a permanent job.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-05

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Background Investigations
KEY: Bloom's: Application
 24. The selection process for an international assignment should provide a realistic picture of the life,
work, and culture to which the employee may be sent.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Global Staffing Issues
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

25. Poor adaptation of an expatriate’s spouse and/or family to the overseas location is a major factor in the
failure of expatriate assignments.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Global Staffing Issues
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

26. The United States is the only country which restricts the employment of foreign nationals by requiring
work permits and visas.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Global Staffing Issues
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

27. All U.S. EEOC regulations and laws apply to foreign-owned firms operating in the United States.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Global Staffing Issues
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

28. EEO laws require employers to collect data on race, sex, and other demographics about their
applicants but, legally, employers are not allowed to use this information in making hiring decisions
except in very limited circumstances.

ANS: T PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Legal Concerns in the Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

29. Since “soft skills” are difficult to test for, and interviewing for these skills often puts women
candidates at a disadvantage, the EEOC’s guidelines require that applicants be selected for quantifiable
or measurable “hard skills” only.

ANS: F PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-06

NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic TOP: Legal Concerns in the Selection Process
KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

SHORT ANSWER

1. In the context of selection and placement, what is meant by the term “mismatch”?

ANS:
Lack of fit between KSAs and job requirements can be classified as a mismatch. A mismatch results
from poor pairing of a person’s needs, interests, abilities, personality, and expectations with
characteristics of the job, rewards, and the organization in which the job is located. The need to match
people and jobs on multiple dimensions makes placement difficult and complex.
 PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-01 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic
TOP: Selection and Placement KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

2. What is the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory?

ANS:
Organizations tend to favor job applicants who effectively blend into how business is conducted. As a
result, the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory is often used to better understand the concept of
fit in companies. The ASA theory proposes that job candidates are attracted to and selected by firms
where similar types of individuals are employed, and that individuals who are different quit their jobs
to work elsewhere.

PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-01 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Selection and Placement KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

3. List the employment functions that organizations need to be concerned with.

ANS:
The employment function in any organization may be concerned with some or all of the following
activities: (1) receiving applications, (2) interviewing the applicants, (3) administering tests to
applicants, (4) conducting background investigations, (5) arranging for physical examinations, (6)
placing and assigning new employees, (7) coordinating follow-up evaluations of these employees, (8)
conducting exit interviews with departing employees, and (9) maintaining appropriate records and
reports.

PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-01 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Selection and Placement KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

4. What purposes do application forms serve?

ANS:
Application forms, which are used universally, can take on different formats. Properly prepared, the
application form serves four purposes:
1. It is a record of the applicant’s desire to obtain a position.
2. It provides the interviewer with an applicant profile that can be used during the interview.
3. It is a basic employee record for applicants who are hired.
4. It can be used for research on the effectiveness of the selection process.

PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-02 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: The Selection Process KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

5. Define situational judgment tests.

ANS:
Situational judgment tests are designed to measure a person’s judgment in work settings. The
candidate is given a situation and a list of possible solutions to the problem. The candidate then has to
make judgments about how to deal with the situation. Situational judgment tests are a form of job
simulation.

PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-03 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Selection Testing KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

6. When does inter-rater reliability become important during selection interviewing?

 ANS:
Inter-rater reliability (across different interviewers) becomes important when each of several
interviewers is selecting employees from a pool of applicants, or if the employer uses team or panel
interviews with multiple interviewers.

PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-04 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Selection Testing KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

7. How does an unstructured interview differ from a semistructured one?

ANS:
An unstructured interview occurs when the interviewer improvises by asking questions that are not
predetermined, while a semistructured interview is a guided conversation in which broad questions are
asked and new questions arise as a result of the discussion.

PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-04 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Selection Testing KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

8. Identify the sources of background information for job applicants.

ANS:
Background information can be obtained from many sources. Some of these sources include past job
records, credit history, testing records, educational and certification records, drug tests, Social Security
numbers, sex offender lists, motor vehicle records, and military records.

PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-05 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Background Investigations KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

9. Why are medical examinations required in the selection process?

ANS:
Medical information on applicants may be used to determine their physical and mental capabilities for
performing jobs. Physical standards for jobs should be realistic, justifiable, and linked to job
requirements. Even though workers with disabilities can competently perform many jobs, they
sometimes may be rejected because of their physical or mental limitations.

PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-05 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Background Investigations KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

10. What are the types of global employees that need to be considered when selecting candidates for
international assignments?

ANS:
Global organizations can be staffed in many ways, including with expatriates, host-country nationals,
and third-country nationals. Each staffing option presents some unique HR management challenges.
For instance, when staffing with citizens of different countries, different tax laws and other factors
apply. HR professionals need to be knowledgeable about the laws and customs of each country
represented in their workforce. Experienced expatriates can provide a pool of talent that can be used as
the firm expands operations into other countries.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-06 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Global Staffing IssuesKEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
ESSAY

1. Describe the relationship among job performance, selection criteria, and predictors in the employee
selection process.

ANS:
Effective selection of employees involves using selection criteria and predictors of these criteria. At
the heart of an effective selection system must be the knowledge of what constitutes good job
performance. When one knows what good performance looks like on a particular job, one needs to
identify what it takes for the employee to achieve successful performance. These are called selection
criteria. A selection criterion is a characteristic that a person must possess to successfully perform
work. Ability, motivation, intelligence, conscientiousness, appropriate risk, and permanence might be
selection criteria for many jobs. Selection criteria that might be more specific to managerial jobs
include leading and deciding, supporting and cooperating, organizing and executing, and enterprising
and performing.
To determine whether candidates might possess certain selection criteria (such as ability and
motivation), employers try to identify predictors of selection criteria, which are measurable or visible
indicators of those positive characteristics (or criteria). Predictors of permanence might be individual
interests, salary requirements, and tenure on previous jobs. If a candidate possesses appropriate
amounts of any or all of these predictors, it might be assumed that the person would stay on the job
longer than someone without those predictors. In addition, the information gathered about an applicant
using the individual predictors included in application forms, tests, and interviews should focus on the
likelihood that the person will execute the job competently once hired, so the factors need to be valid
for the purposes of selection.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-01 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Selection and Placement KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

2. What are the circumstances in which an employer needs to combine predictors? What are the two ways
of combining predictors?

ANS:
When an employer uses predictors such as three years of experience, possesses a college degree, and
acceptable aptitude test score, job applicants are evaluated on all of these requirements and the
multiple predictors combined in some way. Two approaches for combining predictors are as follows:
-Multiple hurdles: A minimum cutoff is set on each predictor, and each minimum level must be
“passed.” For example, to be hired, a candidate for a sales representative job must achieve a minimum
education level, a certain score on a sales aptitude test, and a minimum score on a structured interview.
-Compensatory approach: Scores from individual predictors are added and combined into an overall
score, thereby allowing a higher score on one predictor to offset, or compensate for, a lower score on
another. The combined index takes into consideration performance on all predictors. For example,
when admitting students into graduate business programs, a higher overall score on an admissions test
might offset a lower undergraduate grade point average.

PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-01 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Selection and Placement KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

3. What are the purposes of the application form? What disclaimers should application forms contain?

ANS:
An application form is the record of the applicant’s desire to obtain a position, and it provides the
interviewer with an applicant profile that can be used in the interview. If the applicant is hired, it forms
a basic employee record. Application forms can also be used for research on the effectiveness of the
selection process.
 A number of disclaimers and disclosures should appear on the application form to reduce litigation.
These include an employment-at-will statement, permission to contact references, notice of
employment testing, the application’s active status time limit, and a notice that falsification of
application information can be grounds for serious reprimand or termination.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-02 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: The Selection Process KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

4. What are the EEOC guidelines that need to be considered when planning the content of application
forms?

ANS:
An organization should retain all applications and hiring-related documents and records for three
years. Guidelines from the EEOC and court decisions require that the data requested on application
forms must be job related. Though frequently found on application forms, questions
that ask for the following information are illegal.
-Marital status
-Height/weight
-Number and ages of dependents
-Information on spouse
-Date of high school graduation
-Contact in case of emergency
Most of the litigation surrounding application forms has involved questions regarding the gender and
age of a potential employee, so special consideration should be dedicated to removing any items that
relate to these personal characteristics. Concerns about inappropriate questions stem from their
potential to elicit information that should not be used in hiring decisions.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-02 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: The Selection Process KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

5. What selection tests would be appropriate to use for entry-level professional positions? Which tests
would clearly not be appropriate or even illegal?

ANS:
Appropriate tests for entry-level professional positions would include specific cognitive ability tests
that assess job-related requirements. For instance, mathematical ability and complex problem solving
might be appropriate for some positions in an investment bank. Physical ability and psychomotor tests
would not be appropriate because professional positions would not require much physical ability, and
many disabilities could be accommodated in an office setting. An assessment center to ascertain
management potential would be appropriate if the applicants are on a dual professional/managerial
career track. Personality tests such as the MMPI would be appropriate if there were job-related reasons
for certain personality characteristics, such as conscientiousness to contribute to job performance.
Honesty and integrity tests would be appropriate for some industries, if they were professionally
scored. Polygraph tests may not be legal to prescreen applicants for this job. Background checks and
drug tests would be mandatory in this industry. Medical tests would be legal only after a conditional
job offer was made according to the ADA.

PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-03 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Selection Testing KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

6. Discuss the usefulness of honesty and integrity tests as selection tests.

ANS:
 Companies are utilizing different tests to assess the honesty and integrity of applicants and employees.
Employers use these tests as a screening mechanism to prevent the hiring of dishonest employees, to
reduce the frequency of lying and theft on the job, and to communicate to applicants and employees
alike that dishonesty will not be tolerated. Honesty/integrity tests can be valid as broad screening
devices for organizations if used properly. Research also indicates that, even though honesty tests can
be expensive to administer, much of these costs were justified by savings in workers’ compensation
claims. However, these instruments have limitations. For instance, socially desirable responding is a
key concern; some questions can be considered overly invasive, insulting, and not job related;
sometimes false-positives are generated (or an honest person is scored as “dishonest”); and test scores
might be affected by individual demographic factors such as gender and race.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-03 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Selection Testing KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

7. “Interviews are the most widely used, but the least valid selection method.” Discuss this statement.
What are some of the uses and problems associated with employment interviews?

ANS:
A selection interview can integrate all information obtained from application forms, tests, and
reference checks, and investigate any conflicting information that may have emerged. The interview
tends to have high intra-rater reliability. But, typically, inter-rater reliability is only moderate to low.
Consequently, the same applicant can be evaluated differently by different raters. An interview
typically does not have statistical validity unless the interview is highly structured. Interviewing skills
must be acquired through training so that effective questioning and listening techniques are used and
that illegal questions are avoided. In addition, interviewers are susceptible to problems such as snap
judgments, negative emphasis, halo effect, stereotyping, biases, and cultural noise. The most valid and
reliable interviews are structured. Nondirective and unstructured interviews are not the best for
selection interviewing. In addition, poorly trained interviewers can ask illegal questions that make an
employer vulnerable to discrimination lawsuits.

PTS: 1 DIF: Challenging OBJ: LO: 07-04 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Selection Testing KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

8. What is the purpose of conducting background investigations on job applicants? What are some of the
legal issues involved?

ANS:
A background investigation shows that the employer exercised due diligence in hiring the employee.
This can protect the employer from negligent hiring lawsuits if the employee causes harm to someone
in the course of his/her job. It can also protect the employer from someone who might commit
corporate theft or other wrongdoings such as injury to other employees or clients. Background checks
are often mandated by states for people who work with vulnerable populations such as children or the
elderly, persons who operate buses and commercial trucks, and people who deal with financial assets
or with prescription drugs. Although it is legal for employers to check social media in the course of
background checks, the information derived may not be accurate because anyone can post anything
about an individual, true or not. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the employer must disclose that a
credit check is being made, obtain written consent from the applicant, and provide the applicant with a
copy of the report. Credit checks are routine in financial institutions, but may be illegal for use in other
types of jobs if the credit checks are not really necessary.

PTS: 1 DIF: Moderate OBJ: LO: 07-05 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Background Investigations KEY: Bloom's: Comprehension

9. What are the key competencies for successful global employees?

 ANS:
The key competencies for successful global employees include the following:
-Cultural adjustment: Individuals who accept foreign job assignments need to be able to successfully
adjust to cultural differences.
-Personal characteristics: The experiences of many global firms demonstrate that the best employees in
the home country may not be the best employees in a global assignment, primarily because of personal
characteristics of individuals.
-Organizational requirements: Many global employers find that knowledge of the organization and
how it operates is important.
-Communication skills: Expatriate employees should be able to communicate in the host-country
language both orally and in writing.
-Personal/family concerns: The preferences and attitudes of spouses and other family members can
influence the success of expatriate assignments.

PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-06 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Global Staffing IssuesKEY: Bloom's: Knowledge

10. According to the EEOC and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), what is the
definition of an “applicant”?

ANS:
The EEOC and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) have agreed on this
definition of “applicant” to be used when an application has been submitted electronically. An
applicant is a person who:
-has expressed interest through the Internet or electronically and is being considered for a specific
position by the employer;
-has identified that he or she has the basic position qualifications;
-does not remove his or her interest in the position at anytime during the selection process; and
-has been ranked using “hit features” by employer software.

PTS: 1 DIF: Easy OBJ: LO: 07-06 NAT: BUSPROG: Analytic

TOP: Legal Concerns in the Selection Process KEY: Bloom's: Knowledge
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
When his first students met him, they met him as a youthful and a
learned man; these latest students found him old, bald, scarcely able
to see—and yet he had not allowed himself any rest. In spite of the
fact that he felt death was coming, he continued to study day and
night, he read all the books then existing, and when he had read
them all, he said only, "Now I have got to the beginning of my real
studies. The material is in my hands; now I shall use it." Sickness or
health made no difference to him. This life he thought of only as the
commencement of eternity.
He said, "What's Time? Leave Now for dogs and apes!
Man has Forever!"
Back to his books then; deeper drooped his head:
Calculus racked him:
Leaden before, his eyes grew dross of lead:
Tussis attacked him.
In vain did his friends and pupils beg him to take a little rest, but he
never would; he said that he must learn everything he could before
dying.
So, with the throttling hands of death at strife,
Ground he at grammar;
Still, through the rattle, parts of speech were rife:
While he could stammer
He settled Hoti's business—let it be!—
Properly based Oun—
Gave us the doctrine of the enclitic De,
Dead from the waist down.
"Hoti" is the Greek word "that"; "Oun" is the word "then," also
"now"; it has other kindred meanings. "De" has the meaning of
"toward" when enclitic; but there is another Greek word "de"
meaning "but." The reference in the poem is to the rule for
distinguishing the Greek "de" meaning "toward" from the Greek "de"
meaning "but." "Calculus" is the disease commonly called "stone in
the bladder." "Tussis" is a cough.
And now the singers have brought the body to the burial-place at
the top of the mountain, and their song ends with this glorious
burst:
Well, here's the platform, here's the proper place:
Hail to your purlieus,
All ye highfliers of the feathered race,
Swallows and curlews!
Here's the top-peak; the multitude below
Live, for they can, there;
This man decided not to Live but Know—
Bury this man there?
Here—here's his place, where meteors shoot, clouds form,
Lightnings are loosened,
Stars come and go! Let joy break with the storm,
Peace let the dew send!
Lofty designs must close in like effects:
Loftily lying,
Leave him—still loftier than the world suspects,
Living and dying.
We may turn from this fine poem without further comment to a
piece entitled "The Patriot." There is a bit, and a very bitter bit, of
the true philosophy of life in it. Nothing is so fickle, so uncertain, so
treacherous as popularity. Thousands of men who tried to get the
applause of the multitude, the love of the millions, and thought that
they had succeeded, found out at a later day how quickly that
applause could be turned into roars of hate, how quickly that
seeming admiration could be changed into scorn. This fact about the
instability of human favour is well known to every clear headed
person who enters into what is called the social struggle; but it is
more often illustrated in politics. The political aspect of the matter is
the most remarkable, and has therefore been chosen by Browning. I
do not know to what particular person he may be making reference
—perhaps he was thinking of Rienzi. But in all periods of history the
fact has been about the same. You will remember, no doubt, the
case of Pericles in the history of Athens, and of many others. You
may remember also how the French Revolution devoured its own
children, how the men that were one day almost worshipped by the
people like gods, would be dragged to the guillotine the day after.
And even in the history of this country I think you must remember
not a few examples of how uncertain popular favour must always be.
In this case the victim speaks, some man who once had been
regarded as the saviour of the people, but who is now regarded as
their enemy, and who is going to be executed as a common criminal,
simply because he happened to be unfortunate. He remembers the
past, and contrasts it with the cruel present:
It was roses, roses, all the way,
With myrtle mixed in my path like mad:
The house-roofs seemed to heave and sway,
The church-spires flamed, such flags they had,
A year ago on this very day.

The air broke into a mist with bells,

The old walls rocked with the crowd and cries.
Had I said: "Good folk, mere noise repels—
But give me your sun from yonder skies!"
They had answered, "And afterward, what else?"
Here I may say that in Western countries from very ancient times it
has been the custom to cover with flowers the road along which
some great conqueror or other honoured person was to come. The
ancients used especially roses and myrtles, but even to-day it is
often the custom to throw flowers on the ground before the passing
of a sovereign or other great person. "Like mad" is an idiom used to
express extreme action of any sort; "to laugh like mad," would be to
laugh unreasonably and extravagantly. The reference to the
apparent movement of the roofs of the houses pictures the crowding
of people on the house-tops to see the hero, a custom still kept up.
And the reference to the effect of the bells as making "mist,"
indicates the excessive volume of sound; for it is said that the firing
of cannon or the making of any other great noise will often cause
rain to fall. The idea is that the people rang the bells so hard that
the rain fell, and these were what we call "joy-bells."
"If on that day of my triumph," he says, "I had asked them to give
me the sun, they would have answered out of their hearts, Certainly
—and what else?" Now it is very different indeed.
Alack, it was I who leaped at the sun
To give it my loving friends to keep!
Nought man could do, have I left undone:
And you see my harvest, what I reap
This very day, now a year is run.

There's nobody on the house-tops now—

Just a palsied few at the windows set;
For the best of the sight is, all allow,
At the Shambles' Gate—or, better yet,
By the very scaffold's foot, I trow.

I go in the rain, and, more than needs,

A rope cuts both my wrists behind;
And I think, by the feel, my forehead bleeds,
For they fling, whoever has a mind,
Stones at me for my year's misdeeds.
What he says is this: "I did not ask them for anything for myself; it
was I who wanted to give them the sun, or anything else that they
wished for. Every possible sacrifice that any man could make I made
for these people, and you see what my reward is to-day—just one
year from the time when they honoured and revered me. Nobody
now stands on the house tops to look at me; all have gone to the
execution ground to see me die, except a few old people who cannot
walk, and who stay at the windows to see me pass, with my hands
tied behind my back. People are throwing stones at me, and I think
my face is bleeding." The last allusion is to a very cruel custom only
of late years abolished in England by better police regulations. In the
old times, when a prisoner was being taken to the gallows, people
would often strike him, or throw stones at him as he went by, and
nobody attempted to protect him. To-day this is not done, simply
because the police do not allow it, but the natural cruelty of a mob is
perhaps just as great as it ever was.
Thus I entered, and thus I go!
In triumphs, people have dropped down dead.
"Paid by the world, what dost thou owe
Me?"—God might question; now instead,
'Tis God shall repay: I am safer so.
These are the man's last thoughts. "I came into this city a hero, as I
told you; now I am going out of it, to be executed like a vulgar
criminal. How much better would it have been if I had died on the
day when all the people were honouring me! I have heard that men
have fallen dead from joy in the middle of such a triumph as I then
had. But would it have been better if I had died happy like that?
Perhaps it would not. God is said to demand a strict account in the
next World from any human being who has been too happy in this.
If I had died that day, God might have said to me, You have had
your reward from the world; have you paid to me what you owed in
love and duty? But now the world kills me; it is from God only that I
can hope for justice. He is terrible, but I can trust him better than
this people; I am safer with him!"
I am not sure what Browning refers to in speaking of those who
have been known to drop dead in the middle of a triumph. But
perhaps he is referring to the story of the Sicilian, Diagoras, which is
one of the most beautiful of all Greek stories, and is fortunately quite
true. Diagoras had been the greatest wrestler among the Greeks,
the greatest athlete of his time, and was loved and honoured by all
men of Greek blood. He had seven sons. When he was a very old
man these seven sons went to contend at the great Olympic games
(if I remember correctly). There were but seven prizes for all the
feats of strength and skill; and these seven prizes were all won by
the seven sons of Diagoras—that is to say, they had proved
themselves the best men of the whole world at that time, even the
boy son winning the prize given only to boys. Then the people
demanded to know the name of the father of those young men, and
the sons lifted him upon their shoulders to show him to all the
people. The people shouted so that birds flying above them, fell
down; and the old man in the same moment died of joy, as he was
thus supported upon the shoulders of his sons. The Greeks said that
this was the happiest death that any man ever died. Perhaps
Browning was referring to this story; but I am not sure.
Kings have sometimes been accused of ingratitude, but on the
whole, kings have shown more gratitude than mobs; a sovereign is
apt to remember that it is good policy to repay loyalty and to
encourage affection. Browning gives us a few magnificent specimens
of loyal feeling toward sovereigns, feeling which it is pleasant to
know was not repaid with ingratitude. I am referring to his "Cavalier
Tunes," little songs into which he has managed to put all the fiery
love and devotion of the English gentlemen who fought for the king
against Cromwell and his Puritans, and who fought, luckily for
England, in vain at that time. Right or wrong as we may think their
cause, it is impossible not to admire the feeling here expressed. I
shall quote the second song first. You must imagine that all these
gentlemen are drinking the health of the king, with songs and
cheers, even at the time when the king's cause seems hopeless.
GIVE A ROUSE!

King Charles, and who'll do him right now?

King Charles, and who's ripe for fight now?
Give a rouse: here's, in hell's despite now,
King Charles!
(Single voice)
Who gave me the goods that went since?
Who raised me the house that sank once?
Who helped me to gold I spent since?
Who found me in wine you drank once?
(Chorus, answering)
King Charles, and who'll do him right
 now?
King Charles, and who's ripe for fight
now?
Give a rouse: here's, in hell's despite
now,
King Charles!
(Single voice)
To whom used my hoy George quaff else,
By the old fool's side that begot him?
For whom did he cheer and laugh else,
While Noll's damned troopers shot him?
(Chorus, answering)
King Charles, and who'll do him right
now?
King Charles, and who's ripe for fight
now?
Give a rouse: here's, in hell's despite
now,
King Charles!
The father is reminding his friends of the brave death of his own
son, who died shouting for the king and laughing at his
executioners. I do not think that there is a more spirited song in
English literature than this. Perhaps you may observe that the
measure in the third stanza does not run smoothly like the measure
of the other stanzas; it hesitates a little. But this is a great stroke of
art, for it indicates the suppressed emotion of the father speaking of
his dead son. The other song, the first of the three given by
Browning, represents the feeling of an earlier time in the civil war,
probably the time when the aristocracy and gentry first gathered
together to defend the king. There is a splendid swing in it. Both
songs are a little rough, because the spirit of the age was rough; the
finest gentleman used to swear in those days, and to use words
which we now consider rather violent. I may remark, however, that
even to-day in the upper ranks of the English army and navy,
something of the same scorn of conventions still remains; generals
and admirals will swear occasionally in battle, just as these
gentlemen of an older school swore as they advanced against the
Puritan armies.
MARCHING ALONG

Kentish Sir Byng stood for his King,

Bidding the crop-headed Parliament swing:
And, pressing a troop unable to stoop
And see the rogues flourish and honest folk droop,
Marched them along, fifty-score strong,
Great-hearted gentlemen, singing this song.

God for King Charles! Pym and such carles

To the Devil that prompts 'em their treasonous parles!
Cavaliers, up! Lips from the cup,
Hands from the pasty, nor bite take nor sup
Till you're—
(Chorus) Marching along, fifty-score strong,
Great-hearted gentlemen, singing this song.

Hampden to hell, and his obsequies' knell

Serve Hazelrig, Fiennes, and young Harry as well!
England, good cheer! Rupert is near!
Kentish and loyalists, keep we not here,
(Chorus) Marching along, fifty-score strong,
Great-hearted gentlemen, singing this song.

Then, God for King Charles! Pym and his snarls

To the Devil that pricks on such pestilent carles!
Hold by the right, you double your might;
So, onward to Nottingham, fresh for the fight,
(Chorus) March we along, fifty-score strong,
Great-hearted gentlemen, singing this song.
The names in this poem are all of them great names of the Civil War.
Hampden, you know, was Parliamentary leader in the movement
against the king. He was killed in battle, and his place as leader was
taken by Pym. The other names are of members of the Long
Parliament—except Rupert. Rupert, or Prince Rupert, as he is more
generally known, was the leader of the Royal cavalry, one of the
most brilliant cavalry leaders of history. He was never beaten
seriously until he met Cromwell's Puritan cavalry. A reference may be
necessary in regard to Nottingham. There was no fight exactly at
Nottingham; but it was at Nottingham that the cavalry gathered
round the king's standard before the battle of Edgehill, near
Banbury, a drawn battle, not decided either way.
So much for the references. As for the song itself, something
remains to be said. I think that the two songs are about the most
spirited in English literature. They are so for many reasons,
especially because of the fiery emotion which the poet has flung into
them, and because of their absolute truth to the feeling of the
seventeenth century, both as to form and as to tone. But I wonder
whether any of you have noticed what it is that gives such
uncommon force to the verses. To a great degree, it is the use of
triple rhymes. In both songs the rhymes are triple, while the
measure is short, and the result is something of that rough strength
which characterises the old Northern poetry. For instance:
Hold by the right, you double your might,
So onward to Nottingham, fresh for the fight.

King Charles, and who'll do him right now?

King Charles, and who's ripe for fight now?
Give a rouse: here's, in hell's despite now,
King Charles!
You see that very great effects may be produced by very simple
means. In "Marching Along," the "swing" or "lilt" is partly due to the
fact that the three rhymes follow each other not in regular but in
irregular succession, a rhymeless measure alternating between the
second and the third rhymes, as will be plainly seen if we write the
verses in another form:
 Kentish Sir Byng
Stood for his king,
Bidding the crop-headed
Parliament swing.
But I want to explain the spirit rather than the workmanship of
Browning; and I have turned aside here to the subject of measure
only because the instances happened to be very extraordinary. The
beauty of the work is really in the glow and strength of the loyal
feeling that peals through it.
Do not suppose, however, that the poet picks out by preference the
noble or the attractive side of human feeling in any form of society,
for his subject. Quite the contrary. Most often he paints the ugly
side, even in speaking of kings and courts, nobles and princes. In
the splendid poem "Count Gismond," which I dictated last year, you
may have seen one very beautiful side of knightly character, but
there were horrible phases of human nature exhibited in the story.
Browning made the shadows very heavy, with the result that the
lights appeared more dazzling. Sometimes we have no lights—all is
shadow, and sometimes a shadow of hell. Such is the case in the
horrible poem called "The Laboratory," depicting the feelings of a
jealous court-lady, as she stands in the laboratory of a chemist who
is selling her a poison with which she intends to poison her rival in
the favour of the king. The story is laid in the time of Louis XIV,
probably, when such things did actually occur in France. A still
blacker shadow, a still more infernal picture of humanity's dark side,
is "The Heretic's Tragedy," portraying the wicked feelings of a
superstitious person while watching a heretic being burned alive.
Another frightful thing is "The Confessional," a story of the
Inquisition in Spain, showing how the inquisitors succeeded in
seizing, convicting, and burning alive a young man, by taking
advantage of the innocence of his sweetheart, who was made to
betray him through confession without knowing it. Another piece
that is ugly psychologically, is "Cristina and Monaldeschi." Cristina
was a queen of Sweden, and one of the most learned women of her
time, but very masculine; she liked to wear men's clothes and to
follow the amusements of men. She abdicated her throne, merely in
order to feel more free in her habits. It is believed that she secretly
loved her private secretary, and that he was dishonourable enough
to tell other people of his relation to her. At all events, one day she
ordered him to come into her room, and after upbraiding him with
treachery to her, she had him killed in her presence. The fact
shocked Europe a great deal at the time. Browning tries to make us
understand Cristina's feeling, and he forces us to sympathise a little
with her anger. There are multitudes of poems of this class in
Browning. He wants us to know all the strange possibilities of the
human soul, bad or good, and he never hesitates because a subject
may be shocking to weak nerves. It is just because he does not care
about public feeling, ignorant public opinion, upon these matters,
that he manages to give us such exact truth; he is not afraid. For a
little bit of truth thus exemplified—this is not ugly—let us take a little
piece entitled "Which?" Here is another picture of the manners of
the old French court, a very corrupt court and very luxurious. You
must read Taine's "Ancien Régime" to understand what its morals
were. But let us turn to the little picture. Three great ladies are
talking with a priest about love—a fashionable priest, a priest of the
old age, ready to make love or to say mass just according as it
suited his private interest. A very good priest could scarcely have
existed in the court; one had to be very clever and very subtle to live
there. The conversation of these four persons gives us a hint of the
feeling of the age. Only one woman really seems to say what she
thinks; and she says what she thinks only because she is the most
clever of the three.
So, the three Court-ladies began
Their trial of who judged best
In esteeming the love of a man:
Who preferred with most reason was thereby confessed
Boy-Cupid's exemplary catcher and eager;
An Abbé crossed legs to decide on the wager.

First the Duchesse: "Mine for me—

 Who were it but God's for Him,
And the King's for—who but he?
Both faithful and loyal, one grace more shall brim
His cup with perfection: a lady's true lover,
He holds—save his God and his king—none above her."

"I require"—outspoke the Marquise—

"Pure thoughts, ay, but also fine deeds:
Play the paladin must he, to please
My whim, and—to prove my knight's service exceeds
Your saint's and your loyalist's praying and kneeling—
Show wounds, each wide mouth to my mercy appealing."

Then the Comtesse: "My choice be a wretch,

Mere losel in body and soul,
Thrice accurst! What care I, so he stretch
Arms to me his sole saviour, love's ultimate goal,
Out of earth and men's noise—names of 'infidel,' 'traitor,'
Cast up at him? Crown me, crown's adjudicator!"

And the Abbé uncrossed his legs,

Took snuff, a reflective pinch,
Broke silence: "The question begs
Much pondering ere I pronounce. Shall I flinch?
The love which to one and one only has reference
Seems terribly like what perhaps gains God's preference."
The answer of the priest, giving the victory to the Comtesse, is
clever and double-edged. He probably knows everything that goes
on in the court: he knows how many lovers the Duchesse has had,
and the Marquise. He knows that their talk about religion and loyalty
as the perfections of man, are not quite sincere. Indeed, the
Marquise is much more sincere than the Duchesse; but if she were
altogether sincere, she would have recognised that her wish—her
expressed wish, at least—must appear as pure pride, not anything
else. But the Comtesse tells a bitter truth by pointing out that if it is
a question of real love, the place and station of the man can signify
nothing at all; love should be a thing of the heart, not a thing of
rank and fashion. And the priest, in supporting her claim and in
saying that a true love can have reference only to one person, really
suggests to his audience, whose love relations have doubtless been
very numerous, what he thinks to be the opinion of God on the
subject. But "perhaps," as the priest utters the word, is terrible irony.
"Perhaps gains God's preference," means "I know, of course, that in
the society to which we belong, love only for one's husband is not
considered fashionable; yet the opinions of God may not be the
same as the opinions of our society. It would not be polite of me to
say directly that your opinions and God's opinions are different, but I
just hint it." It was a very queer age. Taine, in his history of the
time, tells a story about a nobleman who, on entering his wife's
room suddenly and finding her making love to another man, took off
his hat and saluted her, saying, "Oh, my dear, how can you be so
careless! Suppose it had not been your husband who opened the
door!" You must understand all this, to understand the mockery of
the poem. Then, again, you must understand the desire of the
Comtesse even for the love of a "wretch," a mere losel, as meaning
that here is a woman who deserves to be loved, but is not loved by
her husband, and who has learned that real love has a value in this
world beyond all value of rank or money or influence.
If you ask me why I have talked so much about so short a poem,
the answer is that nearly all of Browning's short poems mean a great
deal, and force us to think and to talk about them. The reason is
that the characters in these poems are really alive; they impress us
exactly as living persons do, and excite our curiosity in precisely the
same way. Accordingly, notwithstanding their many faults of
construction and obscure English, they have something of the
greatness of Shakespeare's dramas.
It is now time to turn to the study of the greatest of all Browning's
poems. Perhaps I should not call it a poem. It is rather an immense
poetic drama. As printed in this single volume it represents four
hundred and seventy-seven pages of closely printed small text. It is,
therefore, even considered as a dramatic composition, many times
larger than any true drama. But no true drama, except
Shakespeare's, is more real or more terrible. Besides, it is a purely
psychological drama. There is no scenery, no narrative in the
ordinary sense. Everything is related in the first person. The whole is
divided into twelve parts, each of which is a monologue. Nearly all of
the monologues are spoken by different persons. The first
monologue is the author's own, in which he tells us the meaning of
the title and the story of the drama.
It is a true story of Italian life in the seventeenth century, the chief
incident having really occurred in the year 1698. The poet one day
found in an old Italian book shop a little book for sale, which was
the history of a celebrated criminal trial. Besides the book, which
included the speeches of the lawyers on both sides, and the
evidence given before the court, there was a good deal of old
manuscript—papers probably prepared by some lawyer of the time
in connection with the case. Browning was able to buy the whole
thing for eight pence; that small sum furnished him with material for
the most enormous poem in the English language. When he read the
facts of the trial, he said he could actually see all the characters as
plainly as if they were alive, and could even hear them speak. He
soon formed in his mind the plan for his poem; but it was a peculiar
plan. The plan is indicated by the title of "The Ring and the Book."
In Italy there is a great deal of beautiful light gold work made—for
rings especially, which looks so delicate that at first sight you cannot
understand how it was made. In a gold ring there are leaves and
flowers and fruits and insects, so lightly made that even if you let
the ring fall they would be injured and destroyed. Gold is very soft.
In order to cut the gold in this way, the goldsmith uses a hard
composition with which he covers the gold work, and after the
carving and engraving have been done, this composition is melted
off, so that only the pure gold is left, with all the work upon it.
Browning says that he made his book somewhat in the same way
that the Italian goldsmith makes his ring—by the use of an alloy. The
facts of history and of law represent the gold in this case, and the
poet mixes them with an alloy of imagination, emotion, sympathy,
which helps him to make the whole story into a perfectly rounded
drama, a complete circle, a Ring. This is the meaning of the title.
I shall first tell you the story briefly, according to the historical facts.
About the year 1679 there was a family in Rome of the name of
Comparini. The family consisted only of husband and wife; but it
happened that the fact of their being without children proved a legal
obstacle in the way of obtaining some money which they greatly
desired. The wife, Violante, knew that her husband was too honest
to wish to cheat the law, so she determined to try to get the money
without letting him know her deceit in the matter. She pretended to
have given birth, unexpectedly, to a child, but the child had really
been bought from a woman of loose life—it was a very pretty female
child, and was called Francesca Pompilia. Little Pompilia was
supposed to be the real child of the Comparini; and the much
desired money thus passed into their hands. This is the first act of
the tragedy.
Pompilia grew up into a wonderfully beautiful girl; and when she was
thirteen years old, many people wished to marry her. Guido
Franceschini, Count of Arezzo, noticed the girl's beauty, and heard
that she was rich. He determined to marry her if possible, chiefly for
the sake of her money. He was a wicked old man, between fifty and
sixty years of age, ugly, cunning, and poor. But he had immense
influence, both among the nobility and among the church
dignitaries, on account of his family relations; and he was himself of
high rank. The marriage was negotiated successfully. Pompilia, a
child of thirteen, could not naturally have wished to marry this
horrible old man, but she had been taught to obey her parents as
she obeyed Almighty God, and when she was told to marry him she
married him without one word of complaint. By this marriage the
wicked Count got into his hands all the property of the Comparini
family, but it had been promised that the parents of the girl were to
live in the palace of the Count, and to be taken care of for the rest
of their lives. Nevertheless, as soon as the Count had everything in
his hands, he turned the old parents out of his house, in a state of
absolute destitution; he had taken from them their daughter and all
their money, everything that they had in the world. This is the
second act of the tragedy.
Naturally the Comparini family were very angry. The mother of the
girl was so angry that she told her husband all about the trick which
she had played in passing off Pompilia for her own child. Pompilia,
you know, was not her real child at all. This changed the legal aspect
of the matter. Old Comparini went to the Count and said, "You took
our money, and thought that you were taking our daughter. But you
must give back that money. The girl is not our daughter; the money
does not belong to her: it will have to be given back to the
government that we deceived." This is the third act of the tragedy.
The Count was equal to the occasion. He understood the law; but he
understood it much better than the Comparini people. So long as he
kept Pompilia as his wife, he knew that he could keep the money. If
he divorced her, on the ground that she was of vulgar origin, then he
would have to give up the money. But this was not the only
alternative. There was a third possibility. If Pompilia committed
adultery, then he could either kill her or get rid of her and keep the
money notwithstanding. Pompilia was a weak child only thirteen
years old. He was a wicked and terrible man, with half a century of
experience, diabolical cunning, diabolical cruelty, and ferocious
determination. He would make her commit adultery. That would be
the simplest possible solution of the difficulty. But, strange to say,
this terrible man could not conquer that delicate child of thirteen.
First he tried to appeal to her passions, to excite her imagination in
an immoral way. But her heart was too pure to be corrupted. There
was in her no spur of lust. She was a simple good pure wife, too
pure for any wicked ideas to be planted in her mind. Then he tried
force, atrocious cruelty, horrible menace, always without letting her
know what he really intended. What he really intended was to force
her to run away from him. She could not run away except in the
company of a protector. If she ran away with a protector, then he
could kill both her and the man and claim that he had detected the
two in adultery. After having tortured the girl hideously, in every
moral and immoral way, he did succeed in getting her to ask for
protection. She first asked protection from priests and bishops. The
priests and bishops were afraid of the Count, and told her, like the
cowards that they were, that they could not help her. She wanted to
become a nun. The nuns were afraid of the Count, and refused her
prayer. At last she did find one priest, a brave man, who was willing
to save her if possible. He said, "You must run away with me,
though it will look very bad; there is no other way to help you." She
ran away with him. Within twenty-four hours the pair were
overtaken by the Count and his company of armed men. The
opportunity to kill Pompilia and her "lover" had come; but the so-
called "lover," although only an honest poor priest, showed fight,
and protected Pompilia against the Count and all his followers. The
priest refused to surrender Pompilia except to the Church. The
Church arrested both. Pompilia was put into a convent for safe
keeping. The priest was tried for adultery, and acquitted. But he had
done wrong by breaking the law of the Church even for a good
purpose; therefore he was sentenced to banishment for a certain
number of years. This is the fourth act of the tragedy.
The Count finds that all his plans have failed. He has not been able
to convict his wife of adultery, although he has been able to injure
her reputation in the opinion of the public. He cannot get rid of her,
and keep her money too, except by killing her. But she is in the
convent. While he is thinking what to do, another event happens
which upsets all his calculations. Pompilia gives birth to a child of
which he certainly is the father. The money question, the legal
aspect of it, is still more complicated by the birth of the child. At
once the Count determines to kill Pompilia and her parents, out of
revenge. He knows that on certain days she goes to visit her
parents. He watches for such an occasion, and with the help of some
professional murderers, he kills the Comparini, and stabs Pompilia
twenty-two times with a dagger. He imagined that this could be done
so as to remain undiscovered; he thought that the crime could not
be proved upon him. But poor Pompilia is very hard to kill. Although
her slender body was thus stabbed through and through by a
powerful man, she did not die at once; her wonderful youth kept her
alive long enough to tell the police what had happened. The Count
and his hired murderers were arrested and thrown into prison. This
is the fifth act of the tragedy.
It is one thing to find the author of a crime, and put him into prison;
it is a very different thing to convict and punish him. The Count was
very powerful with the army, with the nobility, with the Church;
everybody in his native city was more afraid of him than of the devil.
Nothing is so hard to get in this world as justice. The Count's
powerful friends and relations all united to defend him. Dukes and
great captains, cardinals and bishops and abbots and priests, rich
merchants, influential statesmen, all combined to secure his
acquittal. They obtained the services of great lawyers. They used
money and threats to corrupt witnesses or to terrify them. Yet there
was one thing necessary to secure his acquittal—evidence that the
deed, which he cannot deny, was justified by adultery. An attempt
was made to blacken the character of the murdered wife. But this
evidence was overthrown in the court, and the judges pronounced
sentence of death. Thereupon all the Count's friends made an
appeal to the Pope; the Pope can save the Count, if pressure be
brought of a sufficient sort upon his judgment. But the Pope
happened to be a good man, and a keen man. He examines the
evidence. He sees the truth. He understands the innocence and
beauty of the character of the murdered Pompilia; he comprehends
also the innocence and the courage of the priest who tried to defend
her. He sends word to the prison that the Count must be executed
immediately. So justice is obtained, at least so far as the punishment
of murder can be called justice. But what becomes of the money?
The nuns of the convent in which Pompilia died, they get the money
by very discreditable means, and they keep it. The terrible
Franceschini family cannot try to get that money from the convent;
for the convent means the power of the Church; and the power of
the Church is even more terrible than the power of the Franceschini.
Of course the Pope knows nothing of this matter; the Pope is the
finest character in the whole story. Historically this Pope was
Innocent XII, but his character, as drawn in the study of Browning, is
much more like the character of one of his predecessors, Innocent
XI.
Now I have told you the story, or rather the history of the real
tragedy, which happened something more than two hundred years
ago. You can imagine how complicated the whole thing is, from the
very short summary which I have made. Now if you had to treat a
story like this dramatically, how would you do it? where would you
begin? in what way could you hope to make artistic order out of
such confusion? The task might have puzzled even Shakespeare. It
puzzled Browning for more than a year before he felt how the thing
was possible to manage. When I tell you the way in which he
treated the whole material of the case, I think you will perceive that
only a genius could have thought of the way.
As I have said, Browning divides his poem into twelve parts; and
each part is a monologue. I shall now give you in paragraphs as
brief as possible, the subject of each monologue. You had better
follow the order of the book, using Roman numerals at the
beginning of each paragraph, and putting the title of the book in
Italic letters:
I. The Ring and the Book. Interpretation of the title, and history of
the crime and the trial as told in the ancient legal documents. This
monologue represents the author's speaking only.
II. Half-Rome. Public opinion is always divided upon any
extraordinary event. Browning here tries to give us one side of public
opinion in the year 1698, upon the Franceschini murder. The
monologue represents the ideas of a man of the society of that time.
III. The Other Half-Rome. This monologue represents the contrary
opinion on the subject. But it is a curious fact that neither form of
public opinion even approaches the truth. Both sides are absolutely
mistaken, and very unjust to poor Pompilia.
IV. Tertium Quid (i.e., "a third somebody" or "party"). This opinion is
quite different from that of the two halves of Rome, but it is equally
far from the truth.
V. Count Guido Franceschini. Notice that although the three forms of
opinion previously expressed all contradict each other, and all are
untrue, nevertheless every one of them seems true while you read
it. So does the story of Count Guido Franceschini, the murderer, in
his own defence. Although you have been prejudiced against him
from the beginning, when you first read his side of the story you
cannot help thinking that it is a very reasonable and very true story.
He says in substance that he made a great mistake in marrying so
young a girl, that she disliked him, that he did everything in his
power to obtain her affection and to make her happy, that she ran
away from his house with a monk, that even after that he was
willing to make every allowance for her, but that at last it was
impossible for him, without losing all self-respect, not to punish her
crimes, and those of her infamous parents. He makes an excellent
speech, this Count Guido Franceschini.
VI. Giuseppe Caponsacchi. This is the good priest, the true loyal man
that tried to save Pompilia. He tells his story with perfect
truthfulness and simplicity, and you know that it is true. But at the
same time you feel that no one can believe it. The evidence is
against the priest. Although he is innocent, everybody laughs at his
protestations of innocence.
VII. Pompilia. This is the most horrible part of the book. It is a
monologue by Pompilia telling of the cruelty and the atrocious
wickedness of her husband. It makes your blood run cold to read it,
but you know that nobody would believe that story in a court of
justice. It is too terrible, too unnatural. Those who hear it only think
that Pompilia is a very cunning wicked woman, trying to make
people hate her husband, in order to excuse her own adultery.
VIII. Dominus Hyocinthus de Archangelis, Pauperum Procurator. The
speech of the lawyer for the defence, very cautious, very learned,
very cunning. It was in those days the custom to argue such cases
partly in Latin, and the papers were made out in Latin. "Dominus,"
"lord," was the Latin title of lawyer. "Pauperum Procurator" means
the advocate or counsel of the poor; persons without money enough
to procure legal services in the ordinary way, might be furnished
with a lawyer employed by the state.
IX. Juris Doctor Johannes-Battista, Bottinius, &c. The speech of the
lawyer on the other side, equally learned, equally cunning, and
equally cautious. The reader is forced to the conclusion that neither
of these lawyers really understands the truth of the case. Both are
telling untruth, and both are afraid of the truth. But you will notice
that the lawyer who should speak in favour of Pompilia really does
her more harm than the lawyer whose duty it is to speak against her.
This is the result of cowardice and self-interest on both sides.
X. The Pope. A beautiful study of character. For the first time we
learn the truth in this tenth monologue, so that we feel it is all there,
and not to be mistaken by any one who hears it.
XI. Guido. Horrible. The murderer's confession of his own character.
XII. The Booh and the Ring. Conclusion, and moral commentary.
I believe there is only part of this whole drama that has been
seriously called into question by critics—the last line of the eleventh
monologue, where Guido cries out, "Pompilia, will you let them
murder me?" The question is whether the poet is right in
representing this terrible man in such a passion of fear that he calls
to his dead wife to help him. Certainly it is a general rule that the
man capable of studied cruelty to women and children—to the weak,
in short—is a coward at heart. But there are exceptions to this rule,
and a great many remarkable Italian exceptions. Again many tribes
of savages contradict the rule, being at once brave and cruel. I think
that the criticism in this case may have been largely inspired by the
history of certain Italian families, who were cruel indeed, but
ferociously brave as well. However, Browning studied the facts for
his characters very closely, and he may be right in representing
Guido as a coward. He has been proved to be both treacherous and
avaricious by the evidence in the case, and although prudence may
sometimes be mistaken for cowardice, there were some facts
brought out by witnesses that seem to show the man to have been
as much of a coward as he was a miser.
Now observe the immense psychological work that this treatment of
the story involves—the study of nine or ten completely different
characters, no one of whom could resemble a character of the
nineteenth century, not at least in the matter of thought and speech.
To create these was almost as wonderful as to call the dead of two
hundred years ago out of their graves, a veritable necromancy. This
work alone would make the book a marvellous thing. But the book is
more than marvellous; it is in the highest degree philosophically
instructive. Almost anything that happens in this world is judged
somewhat after the fashion of the judgments delivered in "The Ring
and the Book." For example, let us suppose an episode in Tokyo to-
day, rather than an episode in Italy two hundred years ago, a case
of killing. At first when the mere fact of the killing is known, there is
a great curiosity as to the reason of it, and different newspapers
publish different stories about it, and different people who knew
both parties express different opinions as to the why and how. You
may be sure that none of these accounts is perfectly true—they
could not be true, because those from whom the accounts come
have no perfect knowledge of the antecedents of the crime. But
presently the case comes before the criminal court, with lawyers on
both sides, to prosecute and to defend. Each does his duty the very
best he can, one trying to convict, one trying to secure acquittal. But
do these know the real story from beginning to end? Probably not. It
is very seldom indeed that a lawyer can learn the inside, the
psychological, history of a crime. He learns only the naked facts, and
he must theorise largely from these facts. Finally the judge
pronounces judgment. Does the judge know all about the matter?
Almost certainly not. His duty is fixed by law in rigid lines, and he
cannot depart from those lines; he can sentence only according to
the broad conclusions which he draws from the facts. And after the
whole thing is over, still the real secrets of the two parties, of the
criminal and the victim, remain forever unknown in a majority of
cases. Now what does this prove? It proves that human judgment is
necessarily very imperfect, and that nothing is so difficult to learn as
the absolute truth of motives and of feelings, even when the truth of
the facts is unquestionable. Browning's book tells us more than this;
it shows us that in some cases, where power and crime are on one
side, and poverty and virtue upon the other, the chances against
truth being able to make itself heard are just about a thousand to
one. Of course the world is a little better to-day than two hundred
years ago; murder is less common, justice is less corrupt. But
allowing for these things, the chances of a man persecuted by a rich
corporation, without reason, perhaps with monstrous cruelty, to
obtain even a hearing, would be scarcely better than those of
Pompilia in the story of "The Ring and the Book."
So much for the teaching. There is more than teaching, however;
there are studies of character truly Shakespearian. Pompilia is quite
as sweet a woman as Shakespeare's Cordelia. Her sweetness is
altogether shown by a multitude of details, little words and thoughts
and feelings, that we find scattered through her account of her
terrible sufferings. The author never interrupts his speakers; he
makes them describe themselves. In the case of the Pope, we are
brought into the presence of a very superior intellect—one-sided,
perhaps, but immensely strong in the direction of moral judgment;
the mind of an old man whose entire life has been spent in the finest
study of human nature from an ethical point of view, of human
nature in its manifestations of good and evil. Nothing but this long
experience helps him to see exactly how matters stand. The
evidence brought before him is hopelessly confused, and where not
confused, the facts are against Pompilia and strongly in favour of the
murderer. Moreover, the murderer is powerful in the Church, with all
the influence of clergy and nobility upon his side. But the old man
can see through the entire plot; he cuts it open, gets to the heart of
it, perceives everything that was hidden. What is the lesson of his
character? I think it is this, that a pure nature obtains, simply by
reason of its unselfishness and purity, certain classes of perceptions
that very cunning minds never can obtain. Very cunning people are
peculiarly apt to make false judgments, because they are particularly
in the habit of looking for selfish motives. They judge other hearts
by their own. A pure nature does not do this; it considers the motive
in the last rather than the first place, preferring to judge kindly so
long as the evidence allows it. Intellectual training cannot always
compensate for purity of character.
The studies of Guido himself, which are very horrible, are especially
studies of the man of the Renaissance. We have had other studies of
this kind in other poems of Browning, some of which I have already
quoted to you. But there is a special moral in this study of Guido, the
moral that a really wicked man must hate a really good woman,
simply for the reason that she is good. Then we have in the two
lawyers two pictures of conflicting selfish interests, of selfishness
and falsehood combined to defeat the truth, not because truth is
necessarily unpleasant to the lawyer, but because he wants to make
no enemies by exposing it. This is the way of the world to-day, and
although these men speak the language of the sixteenth or
seventeenth century, their feelings are those of the shrewd and
selfish modern man of society, the man who has no courage in the
face of wrong, if his pocket happens to be in danger. We like only
three characters in the whole drama—Pompilia, the Pope, and
Caponsacchi. Yet there is nothing very remarkable about
Caponsacchi, except in the way of contrast. He is the one character
who, although his life and interests and reputation are at stake,
boldly risks everything simply for a generous impulse. Happily he is
not extraordinary; if he were, one would lose faith in so terrible a
world. Happily we know that wherever and whenever a great wrong
is done, there will always be a Caponsacchi to speak out and to do
all that is possible against it. But Caponsacchi is crushed; and even
the Pope is obliged to punish him for doing what is noble. This is one
of the moral problems of the composition. The man who wants to do
right, and cannot do right except by disobedience to law, may be
loved for doing right, but he must be punished nevertheless for
breaking the law. Does this mean that he is punished for doing
right? I think we should not look at it in that way. The truth is that
the observance of discipline must be insisted upon even in
exceptional cases, because it regards the happiness of millions. We
cannot allow men to decide for themselves when discipline should be
broken. Caponsacchi is thus a martyr in the cause of individual
justice. He has to pay, justly, the penalty of setting a dangerous
example to thousands of others. But he is not on that account less
estimable and lovable, and even the Pope, in punishing him, gives
him words of warm praise.
The consideration of this huge poem ought also to tempt some of
you at a later day to try some application of its method to some
incident of real life. I do not now mean in poetry, but in prose. If you
know enough about human nature to make the attempt, there is no
better way of telling a story. It was a pure invention on the part of
Browning, and we may call it a new method. But of course one must
have a very great power of reading character to be able to do
anything of the same kind.
This is the most colossal attempt in psychology made by Browning,
but a large number of his longer poems are worked out in precisely
the same manner as single monologues. "The Bishop Orders his
Tomb," another Italian study, gives us all the ugly side of the
Renaissance character—its selfishness, lust, hypocrisy, and ambition,
together with that extraordinary sense of art which gave a certain
greatness even to very bad men. "Bishop Blougram's Apology"
(which is said to be a satire upon a famous English Cardinal) is quite
modern, but it is almost equally ugly. It shows us a very powerful
mind arguing, with irresistible logic and merciless cleverness, in an
absolutely unworthy cause. The bishop has heard a young free
thinker observe that the bishop could not believe the doctrines of
the church, he was too clever a bishop for that. So he calls the
young man to him, and utterly crushes him by a very clever lecture,
in which he proves that belief or unbelief are equally foolish, that
right and wrong are interchangeable, that black may be white or
white black, that common sense and a knowledge of the world
represent the highest wisdom, and that the free thinker is an
absolute fool because he tells the world that he is a free thinker. We
know that the bishop is morally wrong the whole way through, that
every statement which he makes is wrong; yet it would take a clever
man to prove him wrong. The logic is too well managed. Few
psychological studies are comparable to this. "Mr. Sludge, 'the
Medium,'" said to be a satire upon the great Scottish spiritualist and
humbug, Home, shows us another kind of quackery; a man who
lives by imposture explains to us how he can practise imposture with
a good moral conscience, and under the belief that imposture is a
benefit to mankind. He talks so well that he obliges even the person
who has detected his imposture to lend him or give him a
considerable sum of money—in short, he can trick even those who
know his trickery. But see how different these beings are from each
other, and how different the studies of their character must
necessarily prove. Yet Browning seems never to find any difficulty in
painting the mind of a man, whether good or bad, whether of to-day
or of the Middle Ages. "Paracelsus," for example, is a mediæval
character; Browning makes him tell us the story of his researches
into alchemy and magic, makes him impart to us the secret ambition
that once filled him, and the consequences of disappointment and of
failure. "Sordello," again, is of the thirteenth century; you will find
his name in the great poem of Dante. Sordello was a poet and
troubadour, who tried to succeed socially and politically by the
exercise of a brilliant talent, and almost did succeed. Browning's
poem on him is the whole story of a human soul; only, it is the man
himself who tells it. And the moral is that suffering and sorrow bring
wisdom. How various and how wonderful is this range of character-
study! Yet I have mentioned only a few out of scores and scores of
compositions. I cannot insist too much upon this quality of versatility
in Browning, this display of Shakespearian power. In all Tennyson
you will find scarcely more than twenty really distinct characters;
and some of these are but half drawn. In Rossetti you will find
scarcely more than half a dozen, mostly women. In Swinburne there
is no character whatever, except the poet's own, outside of that
grand singer's dramatic work. But in Browning there are hundreds of
distinct characters, and there is nothing at all vague about them;
they speak, they move, they act with real and not with artificial life.
Sometimes a character may occupy a hundred pages, sometimes it
may be drawn in half a dozen lines, but the drawing is equally
distinct and equally true. And there is scarcely any kind of human
nature of which we have no picture. Even the lowest type of savage
is drawn, the primitive savage, for "Caliban upon Setebos" gives us
the thoughts and feelings of such a savage about God—God being
figured in the savage mind, of course, as only a much stronger and
larger kind of savage, possessing magical power.
In all his poems, as I said, Browning is essentially dramatic. Quite
rightly has he grouped several collections of short poems under titles
which suggest this fact, such as "Dramatic Idyls," "Dramatis
Personæ," "Men and Women." Sometimes the poet himself is the
only speaker and actor, giving us his own particular feelings of the
moment; but in the most noteworthy cases of this kind he is talking,
not to the reader, but to ghosts. For instance, "Parleyings with
Certain People of Importance in Their Day," are imaginary
conversations which Browning holds with the ghosts of men long
dead—writers, philosophers, statesmen, priests. It is in this
collection that you will find the remarkable verses on the great poem
of Smart, which revived Smart's work for modern readers after a
hundred years of oblivion. I cannot find time to tell you about the
other personages of these imaginary conversations; but I may
mention that Mandeville is the subject of a special conversation, and
that you will find the whole germ of Mandeville's philosophy in this
composition. But let us turn to some consideration of Browning's
work in the true dramatic form—in plays, tragedies or comedies, and
in translations of plays from the Greek.
It would require several lectures to give a summary of Browning's
plays; and they do not always represent his best genius. For it is a
curious fact that this man who, as a simple poet, was the greatest of
English dramatists after Shakespeare, was rarely quite successful
when he attempted the true dramatic form. He was great in the
monologue; he was not great upon the stage. Some of his plays
were acted, such as "Strafford" and "The Blot on the 'Scutcheon";
but they did not prove to be worthy of great success. "In a Balcony,"
which could not be put upon the stage at all, is much better; and
perhaps it is better because it consists only of two monologues, or
rather of a conversation between two persons; for the part taken by
the other actors is altogether insignificant. "The Return of the
Druses" and "Luria," like Tennyson's dramas, are excellent poetry,
but they are not suited for the stage. The best of all Browning's
dramas, the only one that I really want you to read, is "A Soul's
Tragedy." I may say a word about the plot of this. It is a story of
friendship between two young men, patriots and statesmen. In a
political crisis one of the young men stabs a political enemy, and has
fled from the country. But before fleeing, he trusts all his interests
and his property to his friend, and asks the friend also to take care
of his betrothed. What does the friend do? Exposed to great
temptation, he betrays his trust. He sees a chance to obtain political
power by pretending to be the man who really stabbed the politician
on the other side—the tyrant of an hour. The people acclaim him as
their saviour, make him dictator. Then he goes further in his
treachery, by making love to his friend's sweetheart. At last a Roman
statesman, Ogniben, appears upon the scene, with power to crush
the revolution, or to do anything that he pleases. But Ogniben is a
terribly clever man, and he does not want bloodshed; he knows the
character of the new dictator, and determines to play with him, as a
cat with a mouse. First he flatters him enough to make him betray
all his weaknesses, his vanities, his fears. Then, at quite the
unexpected moment, he summons the young man who had run
away, I mean the friend betrayed, and brings him face to face with
the treacherous dictator. The result is of course a moral collapse;
that is the real Soul's Tragedy. I am giving only a thin skeleton of the
plot. But you ought to read this play, if only for the wonderful
studies of character in it, not the least remarkable of which is the
awful Ogniben, far-seeing, cunning beyond cunning, strong beyond
force, who can unravel plots with a single word and pierce all masks
of hypocrisy with a single glance; but whom you feel to be, in a
large way, generous and kindly, and so far as possible, just. I think
not only that this is Browning's greatest play, but that as a play it is
psychologically superior to anything else which has been done in
Victorian drama. It is not fit for the stage, and it is not even very