Act 1, Act 2, Act 3
Analysis
Opening stage directions (setting)
"Fairly large suburban house" (social class, wealth and power) class
This reflects how they are an upper-middle-class family, therefore they are wealthy but not among the
richest. Their wealth is then reinstated later in the text through props like "dessert plates and
champagnes glasses" . The fact that they could enjoy these luxury items further emphasizes their social
status
"Substantial and heavily comfortable but not cosy and homelike" class, appearance vs reality
The adjectives "cozy and homelike" have connotations of family and warmth, however, since the house
is "comfortable but not cozy and homelike " it implies how the happy Birling family is a facade and
depicts that the family may be unsupportive and there is tension within. It also foreshadows how Mr
Birling is unwelcoming to the Inspector and how they treat the lower class. This also helped JB Priestley
insinuate that wealth does not mean happiness which ties into his socialist beliefs.
"Pink and intimate" "brighter and harder" social responsibility, appearance vs reality
the adjectives "pink and intimate" romanticize the Birling family and reflect how happy they
seem. This also links to the idiom "seeing things through rose tinted glasses", implies how
perfect the Birling family think they are and foreshadows their ignorance throughout the play.
the use of the contrasting adjectives "brighter and harder" J.B Priestley foreshadows a
significant turn for the Birling’s' lives that the Inspector is going to cause. These adjectives also
have connotations of judgement day therefore foreshadowing how the Birling’s and Gerald's
sins are going to be exposed.
demonstrates how Priestley believes that the upper and middle classes think that they are
infallible and by later showing how bad the family really, the audience are forced to question
how actually well behaved the upper and middle class are.
"Arthur Birling at one end, his wife at the other" Gender
Arthur Birling is sat at the head of the table could reflect his sense of self-importance as well as
the idea that the men were the head of the household.
The physical distance between them could symbolize the distance between them in their
relationship and implies how there is no closeness between them, emotionally or physically.
could also reflect the views on men and women during the time as women were seen as second
class citizens which is evident through the fact that they were unable to vote.
"Sheila and Gerald seated upstage" Gender
Presents them as the traditional and the ideal couple which makes what happens later in the play more
shocking for the audience.
"Eric downstage"
Shows us he is apart from the rest of the family; this is an early hint that he is perhaps hiding something
from his parents.
,The fact that the Birling’s are distant from each other suggests disunity in the family.
Opening stage directions (characters)
Arthur Birling : " Heavy looking, rather portentous man … rather provincial in his speech"
"heavy-looking" could suggest that Mr Birling is overweight, possibly due to eating a lot more
than needed, which is a typical symbol of wealth in Edwardian Britain as people from the lower
class such as Eva Smith do not earn enough for their meals. This immediately foreshadows the
unfolding of Mr Birling's selfish act that contributed to Eva Smith's death
the adjective "portentous" foreshadows Mr Birling's sense of self-importance which continues
throughout the place.
"provincial in his speech" which demonstrates the lack of education and shows he has an accent
and therefore isn't well-spoken which reinforces the idea that Mrs Birling is his 'social superior'.
This could serve to the reason why Mr Birling overly uses pompous vocabulary : he wants to
compensate for his "lower class accent"
“provincial” also has connotations of being unwilling to accept new ideas or ways of thinking
foreshadowing how his beliefs do not change by the end of the play
Mrs Birling: "His wife... a rather cold woman and her husband's social superior"
'His wife' can present how her identity was based on her husband, as her name isn't clearly
stated like the others. This can link to how Priestley criticized the patriarchal society of 1912.
The use of the adjective “cold” instantly introduces her to be a quite icy, aloof which could be a
reflection of her class and foreshadows her behavior and attitude throughout the play.
“social superior” = hence why she constantly emits her pride alongside degrading others and is
also the reason why she follows the rules of etiquette as having a good reputation was highly
important to people of the upper class
Shelia: "a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited"
The fact that her beauty is the first thing that is mentioned about her demonstrates how during
this time, women were as objects and their value was highly based on their appearance.
She is pleased with life could represent how fortunate she is, contrasting with someone like Eva
Smith, Sheila has never had to work hard in her life as everything was merely handed to her, she
is blissfully unaware of the hardship of other.
Gerald: "easy well-bred young man about town"
use of the rule of three with the adjectives "easy, well-bred young" establishes him as a
member of the elite class, used to a life of leisure.
adjective "young" is used when he has been described as roughly thirty years old suggests that
his attitude to life is immature and thoughtless, and this foreshadows what we later learn about
his irresponsible behavior towards Eva and Shelia.
The phrase "man-about-town" shows that he is a fashionable socialite and implies experience in
the ways of the world. It also implies vanity in that he priorities himself (his appearance and his
sexual needs) over helping others. And this could foreshadow the later revelation that he used
Eva smith to satisfy his needs before discarding her when their relationship was no longer
convenient.
, Eric: "not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive"
Highlighting how he is a neurotic and an unstable character. The noun 'half' displays how he
doesn't know himself and is confused about his own character, highlighting his immaturity and
lack of self-understanding.
The contrast between 'shy', which has connotations of apprehension, and 'assertive' which
implicates dominance emphasis his confusion and uneasiness, which could suggest that he is
full of secrets and guilty of something.
Asyndetic listing, creates the sense that he is overwhelming and overbearing, which could allude
to the self-righteous superiority that his bourgeoisie lifestyle has instilled in him
"Pleased with themselves" social responsibility
hint that they're playing happy families but deep down they all have their own secret.
This shows irony in some sort of way as while they are feeling good about themselves, the
Inspector juxtaposes that into guilt.
the beginning of the play where all characters are not aware of anything but wealth and
happiness and themselves. At
Mr Birling
Priestley presents Mr Birling as the direct anthesis to social reformation
Mr Birling : "Giving us the port Edna " "You ought to like this port, Gerald ... same port your father
gets" Social class
The play opens with Mr Birling's first line "Giving us the port Edna" which establishes his
boastful nature as well as his wealth as a port was sold at a prohibitive price.
speaks to Edna with less respect than he would with everyone else which signifies how the
lower class are treated with very little respect by the upper classes.
His proudness is further highlighted through "you ought to like this port, Gerald.... same port
your father gets" which portrays him as a highly materialistic man but also shows how insecure
he is towards his social status as Gerald comes from a higher class than him. The fact that Mr
Birling bought the same port that Gerald's father uses shows how much he aspires to be part of
the upper class.
the use of the modal verb "ought" shows what a domineering character Mr Birling is-he even
tells his social superior what to do. Arthur demonstrates his harsh and overbearing nature by
telling others what to do.
Mr Birling: “Your just the kind of son in law I’ve always wanted” because Crofts and Birling’s would be
working together for “lower costs and higher prices” capitalism
The fact that Mr Birling is only happy with Gerald due to the business opportunities that he
brings demonstrates how Mr Birling best interest at heart is money, even if it costs his owns
daughter’s happiness, which portrays him as opportunistic and materialistic.
“lower costs” implies how Mr birling is willing to pay his workers little so he can have more
profit which, again, shows his how selfish and mercenary he is . Through this, Priestley is
showing the unfairness of capitalism.
Analysis
Opening stage directions (setting)
"Fairly large suburban house" (social class, wealth and power) class
This reflects how they are an upper-middle-class family, therefore they are wealthy but not among the
richest. Their wealth is then reinstated later in the text through props like "dessert plates and
champagnes glasses" . The fact that they could enjoy these luxury items further emphasizes their social
status
"Substantial and heavily comfortable but not cosy and homelike" class, appearance vs reality
The adjectives "cozy and homelike" have connotations of family and warmth, however, since the house
is "comfortable but not cozy and homelike " it implies how the happy Birling family is a facade and
depicts that the family may be unsupportive and there is tension within. It also foreshadows how Mr
Birling is unwelcoming to the Inspector and how they treat the lower class. This also helped JB Priestley
insinuate that wealth does not mean happiness which ties into his socialist beliefs.
"Pink and intimate" "brighter and harder" social responsibility, appearance vs reality
the adjectives "pink and intimate" romanticize the Birling family and reflect how happy they
seem. This also links to the idiom "seeing things through rose tinted glasses", implies how
perfect the Birling family think they are and foreshadows their ignorance throughout the play.
the use of the contrasting adjectives "brighter and harder" J.B Priestley foreshadows a
significant turn for the Birling’s' lives that the Inspector is going to cause. These adjectives also
have connotations of judgement day therefore foreshadowing how the Birling’s and Gerald's
sins are going to be exposed.
demonstrates how Priestley believes that the upper and middle classes think that they are
infallible and by later showing how bad the family really, the audience are forced to question
how actually well behaved the upper and middle class are.
"Arthur Birling at one end, his wife at the other" Gender
Arthur Birling is sat at the head of the table could reflect his sense of self-importance as well as
the idea that the men were the head of the household.
The physical distance between them could symbolize the distance between them in their
relationship and implies how there is no closeness between them, emotionally or physically.
could also reflect the views on men and women during the time as women were seen as second
class citizens which is evident through the fact that they were unable to vote.
"Sheila and Gerald seated upstage" Gender
Presents them as the traditional and the ideal couple which makes what happens later in the play more
shocking for the audience.
"Eric downstage"
Shows us he is apart from the rest of the family; this is an early hint that he is perhaps hiding something
from his parents.
,The fact that the Birling’s are distant from each other suggests disunity in the family.
Opening stage directions (characters)
Arthur Birling : " Heavy looking, rather portentous man … rather provincial in his speech"
"heavy-looking" could suggest that Mr Birling is overweight, possibly due to eating a lot more
than needed, which is a typical symbol of wealth in Edwardian Britain as people from the lower
class such as Eva Smith do not earn enough for their meals. This immediately foreshadows the
unfolding of Mr Birling's selfish act that contributed to Eva Smith's death
the adjective "portentous" foreshadows Mr Birling's sense of self-importance which continues
throughout the place.
"provincial in his speech" which demonstrates the lack of education and shows he has an accent
and therefore isn't well-spoken which reinforces the idea that Mrs Birling is his 'social superior'.
This could serve to the reason why Mr Birling overly uses pompous vocabulary : he wants to
compensate for his "lower class accent"
“provincial” also has connotations of being unwilling to accept new ideas or ways of thinking
foreshadowing how his beliefs do not change by the end of the play
Mrs Birling: "His wife... a rather cold woman and her husband's social superior"
'His wife' can present how her identity was based on her husband, as her name isn't clearly
stated like the others. This can link to how Priestley criticized the patriarchal society of 1912.
The use of the adjective “cold” instantly introduces her to be a quite icy, aloof which could be a
reflection of her class and foreshadows her behavior and attitude throughout the play.
“social superior” = hence why she constantly emits her pride alongside degrading others and is
also the reason why she follows the rules of etiquette as having a good reputation was highly
important to people of the upper class
Shelia: "a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited"
The fact that her beauty is the first thing that is mentioned about her demonstrates how during
this time, women were as objects and their value was highly based on their appearance.
She is pleased with life could represent how fortunate she is, contrasting with someone like Eva
Smith, Sheila has never had to work hard in her life as everything was merely handed to her, she
is blissfully unaware of the hardship of other.
Gerald: "easy well-bred young man about town"
use of the rule of three with the adjectives "easy, well-bred young" establishes him as a
member of the elite class, used to a life of leisure.
adjective "young" is used when he has been described as roughly thirty years old suggests that
his attitude to life is immature and thoughtless, and this foreshadows what we later learn about
his irresponsible behavior towards Eva and Shelia.
The phrase "man-about-town" shows that he is a fashionable socialite and implies experience in
the ways of the world. It also implies vanity in that he priorities himself (his appearance and his
sexual needs) over helping others. And this could foreshadow the later revelation that he used
Eva smith to satisfy his needs before discarding her when their relationship was no longer
convenient.
, Eric: "not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive"
Highlighting how he is a neurotic and an unstable character. The noun 'half' displays how he
doesn't know himself and is confused about his own character, highlighting his immaturity and
lack of self-understanding.
The contrast between 'shy', which has connotations of apprehension, and 'assertive' which
implicates dominance emphasis his confusion and uneasiness, which could suggest that he is
full of secrets and guilty of something.
Asyndetic listing, creates the sense that he is overwhelming and overbearing, which could allude
to the self-righteous superiority that his bourgeoisie lifestyle has instilled in him
"Pleased with themselves" social responsibility
hint that they're playing happy families but deep down they all have their own secret.
This shows irony in some sort of way as while they are feeling good about themselves, the
Inspector juxtaposes that into guilt.
the beginning of the play where all characters are not aware of anything but wealth and
happiness and themselves. At
Mr Birling
Priestley presents Mr Birling as the direct anthesis to social reformation
Mr Birling : "Giving us the port Edna " "You ought to like this port, Gerald ... same port your father
gets" Social class
The play opens with Mr Birling's first line "Giving us the port Edna" which establishes his
boastful nature as well as his wealth as a port was sold at a prohibitive price.
speaks to Edna with less respect than he would with everyone else which signifies how the
lower class are treated with very little respect by the upper classes.
His proudness is further highlighted through "you ought to like this port, Gerald.... same port
your father gets" which portrays him as a highly materialistic man but also shows how insecure
he is towards his social status as Gerald comes from a higher class than him. The fact that Mr
Birling bought the same port that Gerald's father uses shows how much he aspires to be part of
the upper class.
the use of the modal verb "ought" shows what a domineering character Mr Birling is-he even
tells his social superior what to do. Arthur demonstrates his harsh and overbearing nature by
telling others what to do.
Mr Birling: “Your just the kind of son in law I’ve always wanted” because Crofts and Birling’s would be
working together for “lower costs and higher prices” capitalism
The fact that Mr Birling is only happy with Gerald due to the business opportunities that he
brings demonstrates how Mr Birling best interest at heart is money, even if it costs his owns
daughter’s happiness, which portrays him as opportunistic and materialistic.
“lower costs” implies how Mr birling is willing to pay his workers little so he can have more
profit which, again, shows his how selfish and mercenary he is . Through this, Priestley is
showing the unfairness of capitalism.
