There is dramatic irony very early on in the play. Birling says: “...I say there isn’t a chance of war”, “...the titanic- she sails next week....unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”. The audience know that this has already happened and that he is wrong. This makes them think that he is not really as intelligent as he thinks he is and that he is just big headed. It creates a dramatic effect because it grabs the attention of the audience.
Just as Birling had told Gerald about the knighthood he thought he was going to receive and about how “a man has to look after himself and his own”, the doorbell rings and the inspector arrives. This is dramatic irony because the Inspector has come to disprove what he had just said and he resembles the iceberg that collided with the titanic. It seems as though the Inspector has come to destroy the hopes and achievements of the Birlings just like the Iceberg destroyed the hopes and achievements of the Titanic. The Birlings think they are “undefeatable” and the Titanic was thought to be “unsinkable”. Both dreams are shattered. The audience will pick this up because the sinking of the titanic was a great event at that time and had great significance. This will attract attention because the audience will automatically suspect something of the Inspector and they will be more interested to know about him.
The lighting has a great importance in this play. Priestly says that the lighting should be “pink and intimate” before the inspector arrives and “brighter and harder” when he does arrive. This will automatically arouse interest from the audience and all their attention will be drawn to the inspector because his entrance has been displayed in such a dramatic way. The audience will be eager to know more about the inspector, why his presence is significant and why he is portrayed more important than the rest of the cast. The audience will assume that there is something special about the inspector and his lighting will have a great impact on the audience. There will be a lot of attention drawn to the inspector throughout the play. The lighting will also reinforce the “Iceberg” metaphor because it makes a big change and gives the impression that it has spoiled the comfortable atmosphere.
Priestly describes the Inspector as "he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness. He is a man in his fifties, dressed in a plain darkish suit. He speaks carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking."
The audience will see this and automatically they will recognise him as important. His age will give the audience the impression that he is knowledgeable and wise. A plain darkish suit will make him out to be mysterious, purposeful and solid. His dress will also attract attention because he will seem suspicious and unusual. He will seem powerful, assertive and a figure of authority. He cuts Birling off and is not afraid of him. This will reinforce his power and will make the other cast look insignificant and small. He will stand out and this will also reinforce his significance.
The inspector is portrayed as omnipotent and omniscient which makes him seem like a superior, god-like figure. It seems as though he knows the history of Eva Smith and the Birlings involvement in it, (Sheila says “Of course he knows”) and he knows things are going to happen (He says: "I'm waiting...To do my duty" just as Eric arrives as if he knew he was going to return at that exact moment). This idea is also supported by his name – Goole. Goole sounds like Ghoul. Ghouls are thought of as superior to human beings. His omniscience and omnipotence add interest because it confuses the audience and they try to work out who or what he is. They want to know more about him.
Slowly the tone changes from happy to angry and tense. The audience will recognise this as the beginning of the destroying of the hopes and achievements of the Birlings. For example, Mr.Birling’s confidence is soon replaced by self justification and anxiety. He doesn’t seem so powerful anymore. He has been shattered by the Inspector.
The progressive revelations enforced by the inspector add interest because they extend the story line and keep the audience interested. They also reinforce the idea that the inspector is omniscient. New pieces of information slowly given by the characters contribute to the construction of the story. The audience become interested in how each character will respond to these revelations and they become eager to know the rest of the story and how the other characters are involved in Eva’s life.
The inspector doesn’t give anything away and remains as much of a mystery throughout act 1 as he first entered. This makes the audience wonder about him and be more interested in him.
The inspector only allows the person confessing to look at the picture of Eva Smith. He is very protective of the picture and this makes the audience wonder why he is doing this and the reason behind this.
When inspector Goole is introduced, Birling is very aware of his social reputation; he is very confident and tries to impress the inspector and being in control of the situation. However he fails. Sybil is also very aware of her reputation. She tries to be polite and acts in an informal way.
Character entrances and exits are crucial. They create tension. When the inspector arrives immediately after Birling has told Gerald about his knighthood, a dramatic effect is created because this event resembles the titanic incident. When Eric is heard leaving the audience becomes suspicious and become eager to know what part he played in Eva’s life. When Eric leaves the audience begin to wonder about what Eric is guilty about. Character exits are used to further the plot. They introduce the next character to confess.
There are faint hints that all is not as it seems. In the beginning the atmosphere seems forced. Sheila wants to know where Gerald has been all summer, Eric is agitated and nervous and Lord and Lady Croft did not come to the dinner. This arouses interest and the audience will want to know what is going on.
Act 1 ends with a cliff hanger. The inspector has asked Gerald how he is involved with Eva Smith. The audience are eager to know Gerald’s involvement with Eva Smith and why he really doesn’t want to reveal it.
In “The Inspector calls” J.B Priestley conveys his concerns and ideas to the members of the audience as well as involving and interesting them in his play by using dramatic devices. He used dramatic irony early in the play to involve them, make them seem more powerful than the cast and to show the ignorance of the Birlings. He changes the tone frequently to show the others sides of the cast members. Tension makes the audience eager to find out what happens next. The timing of some events, entrances and exits create dramatic irony, give clues to the plot, create suspense and drag the audience in even more. Subtle hints are given throughout the play that everything is not as it seems and cliff hangers are used to keep the audience interested. The mysteriousness and interesting character of the Inspector also help to interest the audience. Slowly the story of Eva’s life is unravelled and these progressive revelations make the audience eager to know more.
