An Inspector Calls Revision
Setting/Context
The play is set in 1912 in a ‘fairly large suburban house, belonging to a prosperous manufacturer’. All
the action takes place in the Birlings dining room, Priestley’s design helps make the atmosphere of
the play seem more claustrophobic and intense. It emphasises the Birlings private and self-centred
lifestyle and highlights the unwelcome arrival of the Inspector who brings bad news from the
outside. The lighting is ‘pink and intimate’ at the start, but as the Inspector arrives it becomes
‘brighter and harder’, as if a spotlight is turned on their cosy world.
First performed in 1945, post-war era Britain. First signs of change with women entering the
workforce and a new labour government coming into power.
In 1912 class and hierarchy were much more strictly enforced and women had very few rights (could
not vote for example).
JB Priestley was a socialist.
Uses the characters of Mr and Mrs Birling to show the older, traditional views as flawed and
outdated and to expose the ignorance of the upper classes. Sheila and Eric symbolise potential for
change.
While the ‘substantial and heavily comfortable‘ home connotes luxury and decadence, Priestley
specifies it is ‘not cosy and homelike’. The setting is unwelcoming, and may even intimidate an
audience which represents the untouchable position of the rich
Mr Birling
Act 1
Priestley exhibits Mr Birling as the living embodiment of the capitalist ideology.
‘a heavy looking rather portentous man’ – adjective portentous gives an immediate indication of Mr
Birlings self-indulged temperament.
Refers to Eric, Gerald and Sheila as ‘youngsters’, shows how fixated he is on age and superiority.
Noun is mocking and patronising.
‘hard-headed practical man of business’
‘I’m a public man’
‘wretched girl’
‘are you listening Sheila? This concerns you… I don’t often make speeches at you’ – selective about
he presents to Sheila, speeches he makes to her are peppered with propaganda indoctrinating her as
he want to sculpt her as the perfect upper-class capitalist daughter. Direct address to Sheila to show
he demands utmost attention.
Makes false predictions, this emphasises his lack of judgement and sets him up as an untrustworthy
character to the audience. Priestley's effective use of dramatic irony make Mr Birlings opinions
instantly devalued, structurally these examples of dramatic irony appear very early on in the play –
, even before the inspector has arrived – to make it very clear that Mr Birling and everything he stands
for is wrong.
Mr Birling mentioning of his knighthood to Gerald and that he fears Lady Croft does not completely
approve of Sheila as she feels the Birlings are of a lower class, hints at his insecurities and defensive
nature.
‘provincial in his speech’ – from a less sophisticated background, his wife has to reprimand him on
the correct thing to say. Mr Birling’s lack of manners are also reflected when he raises the question of
Lady Crofts approval of Sheila when he bluntly says that she feels Gerald ‘might have done better….
socially’. This leaves Gerald ‘embarrassed’ as he glosses over the comment, as it is an issue he himself
would never raise as it would be considered impolite and disrespectful.
Birling’s constant attempts to condescend the Inspector with rhetorical questions such as 'Is it now?'
or ‘eh Inspector?’ create a façade of authority to mask his own insecurity in his social status. The
Inspector’s indifference to Mr Birling’s attempts to intimidate him lead to Mr Birling asserting his
authority over his children: 'you’ve had enough of that port, Eric' and 'you keep quiet Eric'. Here,
Priestley demonstrates how Mr Birling’s insecurity in his own authority leads to oppression, which is
also reflected onto the lower classes in the workplace as Mr Birling resists his workers’ strike for a
pay rise.
‘like bees in a hive – community and all that nonsense’ – simile: socialism is like a hive. The choice of
the noun hive highlights how Mr Birling believes socialism is chaotic, dangerous and painful.
‘a man has to look after himself – and his family’ – ‘himself’ before ‘family’ is a physical
representation of a typical capitalists egotistical manner. A 1945 audience learned the hard way with
wars that they need to look after each other.
Act 3
‘socialist or some sort of crank’
‘(explosively)’
‘There’ll be a public scandal, and who here will suffer for that more than I will?’
‘look inspector, I’d give thousands’ – shows his fixation on his reputation, appears unsympathetic
claiming he would pay ‘thousands’ even thought he refused Eva the minimal amount of shillings
before. Conveys his irresponsibility as he thinks a bribe can help him out of this situation and allow
him sympathy.
(to eric) – ‘Why you hysterical young fool-‘
‘Now look at the pair of them, the famous younger generation who know it all and cant even take a
joke’
Geralds theory of the Inspector not being real is accepted by Mr Birling ‘eagerly’ and ‘triumphantly’.
Contrasts Sheila and Eric’s belief that ‘the girls still dead’. Divide between generations.
The older generation’s belief that ‘everything’s all right now’ shows that tragedy is required for the
authorities to pay attention. By removing the existence of a ‘dead girl’, Priestley asks his audience
whether the Birlings’ selfish, negligent acts are any better morally because no one died. He suggests
responsibility goes beyond the law or fatal consequences. Responsibility is permanent.
Setting/Context
The play is set in 1912 in a ‘fairly large suburban house, belonging to a prosperous manufacturer’. All
the action takes place in the Birlings dining room, Priestley’s design helps make the atmosphere of
the play seem more claustrophobic and intense. It emphasises the Birlings private and self-centred
lifestyle and highlights the unwelcome arrival of the Inspector who brings bad news from the
outside. The lighting is ‘pink and intimate’ at the start, but as the Inspector arrives it becomes
‘brighter and harder’, as if a spotlight is turned on their cosy world.
First performed in 1945, post-war era Britain. First signs of change with women entering the
workforce and a new labour government coming into power.
In 1912 class and hierarchy were much more strictly enforced and women had very few rights (could
not vote for example).
JB Priestley was a socialist.
Uses the characters of Mr and Mrs Birling to show the older, traditional views as flawed and
outdated and to expose the ignorance of the upper classes. Sheila and Eric symbolise potential for
change.
While the ‘substantial and heavily comfortable‘ home connotes luxury and decadence, Priestley
specifies it is ‘not cosy and homelike’. The setting is unwelcoming, and may even intimidate an
audience which represents the untouchable position of the rich
Mr Birling
Act 1
Priestley exhibits Mr Birling as the living embodiment of the capitalist ideology.
‘a heavy looking rather portentous man’ – adjective portentous gives an immediate indication of Mr
Birlings self-indulged temperament.
Refers to Eric, Gerald and Sheila as ‘youngsters’, shows how fixated he is on age and superiority.
Noun is mocking and patronising.
‘hard-headed practical man of business’
‘I’m a public man’
‘wretched girl’
‘are you listening Sheila? This concerns you… I don’t often make speeches at you’ – selective about
he presents to Sheila, speeches he makes to her are peppered with propaganda indoctrinating her as
he want to sculpt her as the perfect upper-class capitalist daughter. Direct address to Sheila to show
he demands utmost attention.
Makes false predictions, this emphasises his lack of judgement and sets him up as an untrustworthy
character to the audience. Priestley's effective use of dramatic irony make Mr Birlings opinions
instantly devalued, structurally these examples of dramatic irony appear very early on in the play –
, even before the inspector has arrived – to make it very clear that Mr Birling and everything he stands
for is wrong.
Mr Birling mentioning of his knighthood to Gerald and that he fears Lady Croft does not completely
approve of Sheila as she feels the Birlings are of a lower class, hints at his insecurities and defensive
nature.
‘provincial in his speech’ – from a less sophisticated background, his wife has to reprimand him on
the correct thing to say. Mr Birling’s lack of manners are also reflected when he raises the question of
Lady Crofts approval of Sheila when he bluntly says that she feels Gerald ‘might have done better….
socially’. This leaves Gerald ‘embarrassed’ as he glosses over the comment, as it is an issue he himself
would never raise as it would be considered impolite and disrespectful.
Birling’s constant attempts to condescend the Inspector with rhetorical questions such as 'Is it now?'
or ‘eh Inspector?’ create a façade of authority to mask his own insecurity in his social status. The
Inspector’s indifference to Mr Birling’s attempts to intimidate him lead to Mr Birling asserting his
authority over his children: 'you’ve had enough of that port, Eric' and 'you keep quiet Eric'. Here,
Priestley demonstrates how Mr Birling’s insecurity in his own authority leads to oppression, which is
also reflected onto the lower classes in the workplace as Mr Birling resists his workers’ strike for a
pay rise.
‘like bees in a hive – community and all that nonsense’ – simile: socialism is like a hive. The choice of
the noun hive highlights how Mr Birling believes socialism is chaotic, dangerous and painful.
‘a man has to look after himself – and his family’ – ‘himself’ before ‘family’ is a physical
representation of a typical capitalists egotistical manner. A 1945 audience learned the hard way with
wars that they need to look after each other.
Act 3
‘socialist or some sort of crank’
‘(explosively)’
‘There’ll be a public scandal, and who here will suffer for that more than I will?’
‘look inspector, I’d give thousands’ – shows his fixation on his reputation, appears unsympathetic
claiming he would pay ‘thousands’ even thought he refused Eva the minimal amount of shillings
before. Conveys his irresponsibility as he thinks a bribe can help him out of this situation and allow
him sympathy.
(to eric) – ‘Why you hysterical young fool-‘
‘Now look at the pair of them, the famous younger generation who know it all and cant even take a
joke’
Geralds theory of the Inspector not being real is accepted by Mr Birling ‘eagerly’ and ‘triumphantly’.
Contrasts Sheila and Eric’s belief that ‘the girls still dead’. Divide between generations.
The older generation’s belief that ‘everything’s all right now’ shows that tragedy is required for the
authorities to pay attention. By removing the existence of a ‘dead girl’, Priestley asks his audience
whether the Birlings’ selfish, negligent acts are any better morally because no one died. He suggests
responsibility goes beyond the law or fatal consequences. Responsibility is permanent.
