Dramatic Methods - 'Inspector Calls'
Stage Direction and Setting
Cliff Hangers
Dramatic Irony
The entrance of Inspector Goole
Inspector Goole himself
Timing
We can tell that they are all feeling relaxed and confident at the beginning of the play: set - large suburban house furniture - ‘solid …but not cosy and homelike’ props – suggests wealth ‘champagne glasses’, ‘decanter of port’ costume ‘evening dress of the period’ white tie and tails – a formal occasion lighting – ‘pink and intimate’
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Act 1: The inspector returns at the end of the scene and asks his question ‘Well?’ This is a cliffhanger – audience want to watch on to see how Gerald and Sheila react.
Act 2: The front door slams, announcing Eric’s return, but the audience have to wait until Act 3 for his confession. (The front door bangs every time someone enters or leaves the house. The characters and audience can hear this, and wonder who enters the house - effective sound effect in creating tension.
Act 3: Ends off with the telephone ringing sharply and disturbing the atmosphere that they have restored after the inspector leaves - builds up the tension.
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Priestley uses dramatic irony to show how ridiculous and wrong Birling’s opinions are. The dramatic irony makes the audience think Birling is foolish and lacking in knowledge about the future. It also makes his political opinions seem wrong.
Priestley is also showing the audience his concern about such idiotic people and the degree of power they have in this society.
Birling says war won’t happen ‘I say there isn’t a chance of war’ but the audience knows there were two World Wars about to happen Birling says that the Titanic won’t sink – ‘absolutely unsinkable’ – we know it did, later that year.
Birling thinks there’ll be no tension between employers and employees ‘you’ll be living in a world that will have forgotten all these Capital versus Labour agitations’ but there were strikes in 1907-1912 because of poor conditions and the General Strike of 1926 (AO3)
Change of lighting from pink and intimate’ to ‘brighter and harder’ when the inspector arrives. This suggests again that the Inspector is a ‘hard’ character who will wreck the cosy world the Birlings live in. His name ‘Inspector Goole’ also suggests something unpleasant/interesting about the inspector – e.g. ‘ghoul’ means ghost
The inspector ‘creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness’. He also speaks ‘carefully, weightily’ and ‘has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking’. This interests an audience – we want to know why he is there and how people will react to his questioning.
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Timing of entrances and exits is crucial. The Inspector arrives immediately after Birling has told Gerald about his impending knighthood and about how "a man has to look after himself and his own."
Sheila runs off stage when she realises she is the reason Eva was sacked - creates intense atmosphere. Sheila and Gerald are left alone to discuss Daisy Renton- this draws information out for audience.
Tension is further created by the way information is gradually revealed, one person at a time. The audience and characters are kept on tenterhooks!