“An Inspector Calls” is a mysterious drama: it is to be performed on stage not read. J.B Priestley gives specific lighting directions at the opening of Act one. All of the action takes place in the Birling’s dining room, on the first page of act one the room is described as “substantial and heavily comfortable, but not cosy and homelike”. This gives the audience an immediate impression of the atmosphere within the room. J.B Priestley describes the room this way as it reflects the family’s outward comfort and inner tensions.
Priestley describes the lighting as “pink and intimate” before the inspector arrives, when the inspector arrives however the lighting should become “brighter and harder”. The lighting shows how the atmosphere rapidly changes at the inspectors’ arrival, adding tension to the room and reflecting the mood of the play, which is tense.
J.B Priestley uses subtle hints throughout “An Inspector Calls”. Early on in the play the atmosphere is happy and comes across as slightly forced. By Priestley setting the opening scene this way the audience have already become involved in the play. They are involved because they are curious, similar to how Sheila is curious about where Gerald was last summer. The audience are also inquisitive as to why Eric’s character is nervous about something, and why Lord and Lady Croft did not attend the engagement dinner of their son and Sheila. This tells the audience that Eric is particularly involved with the death of Eva Smith. Therefore by using subtle hints Priestley has managed to interest and involve the audience.
There is a remarkable amount of tension in “An Inspector Calls”. Tension rapidly builds up as each member of the family discovers that they played a part in the death of Eva Smith. The audience become interested in how each character reacts to the revelations. As the inspector interrogates each member of the family, the tension builds and more of the story is unravelled. Priestley interests the audience particularly in this part of the play. The audience want to know where the story is leading, and who is going to take responsibility for their actions. This is also the part of the play where Priestley conveys most of his concerns and ideas; through the inspector he is showing us that we all have responsibilities for others.
The inspector himself is the main source of drama. The inspector’s actions have an effect on all the characters as he causes each of the characters to confess the part they played in the death of Eva Smith. The inspector creates drama firstly because his morals contrast Mr. Birling’s. Inspector Goole wants to teach the Birling’s that they all have responsibilities and that their behaviour has influences on others. In contrast Mr. Birling is not willing to accept that he played a part in Eva Smith’s death.
The inspectors speech in act three “One Eva Smith has gone - but there are millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us…we don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.” This is the climax point in which Priestley conveys his concerns and ideas. In that speech alone it makes the audience realise exactly what Priestley wants them to see; that we are all responsible for each other. The speech represents everything that Priestley believes in. The speech shows how although the Birlings’ may feel they have no responsibility for Eva Smith because she is now dead; there are still millions of other people just like Eva Smith who they are responsible for as everyone is a member of one body.
The inspector also says in his speech "fire and blood and anguish” as if that would be the result if they do not pay attention to the lesson that he has taught them.
The inspector controls everything in the play from the end of act one and the start of act two. At the end of act two and the start of act three he has an inescapable company and is in control. As soon as he enters the scene the audience are grabbed by his presence, he is described as "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”. “ An Inspector Calls” is a mysterious drama the way that Priestley describes the inspector, makes the inspector appears mysterious before the audience have become familiar with his character, therefore when Inspector Goole arrives onto the stage the audience want to know more about him.
All that the inspector says creates drama as it stands out significantly in comparison to the Birlings’ and Gerald. He likes to deal with "One Person and one line of enquiry at a time.” his method of enquiry is extraordinary, he says one piece of information then allows the suspect to talk and eventually confess. Sheila describes this method as "He's giving us the rope - so that we'll hang ourselves.” This represents the strength of his interrogation. Towards the end of the play it is shocking to realise that he is not a real inspector as his sense of authority seemed so real. The audience would be so gripped when the Birling’s begin to question whether or not the inspector was a fake.
The inspector seems to know an extraordinary amount of what is going to happen before it actually does. Although Eva Smith died only hours ago Inspector Goole knows about the history of Eva Smith and the Birling’s involvement in it, Sheila tells Gerald “of course he knows”. Suspicious just before Eric’s return he says "I'm waiting...To do my duty” this would make the audience question what exactly he is talking about, then in that moment when Eric arrives the audience would also question just how big Eric’s part was in the death of Eva Smith. This is dramatic as the Birling’s also think this and Mrs. Birling breaks down, the audience see another side to her from the beginning when the inspector first arrived, she was adamant that she had nothing to do with the death of Eva Smith.
This is also the part in the play where the audience would be doubtful as to whether or not Inspector Goole is a real inspector. Inspector Goole stresses, "I haven't much time” does he know that the real inspector is going to arrive? Priestley interests the audience here, as the audience would be curious as to why Inspector Goole needs to leave in such urgency.
Finally an air of mystery is left when the inspector leaves, as no one truly knows who or what he is. ‘An Inspector Calls’ is a mysterious drama. The inspector’s surname “Goole” suggests an air of mystery, Goole reminds us of the word ghoul, another word for ghost. Ghosts can be a figment of the imagination; just as Gerald, Arthur, and Sybil make the assumption that he is a fake or a fantasy. In contrast it is not clear how all the family perceive the inspector. Priestley’s characters do not voice their opinion of the inspector until the end of the play, therefore it is unclear how the portray him. The audience also have to ask themselves how they see the inspector? By doing this Priestley has involved the audience in the play.
In “An Inspector Calls” the numerous changes in tone create a considerable amount of drama. This is shown mainly at the beginning and end of the play. At the opening of the play all the family are in high spirits and celebrating the engagement of Sheila and Gerald, in contrast when the curtain falls the family feel guilty and disturbed as a result of the evening. Sheila shows this change in act two, she tells Gerald "You and I aren't the same people who sat down to dinner here". This line is very powerful because the audience would be thinking about how the family were at the start of the play and how they are now. Priestley is also conveying his ideas here that everyone has an effect on other people. By Inspector Goole making Sheila see what she has done, Sheila realises that she has changed as a result of the events of the evening. Therefore Priestley has conveyed his concerns and ideas to the audience through the character Sheila Birling.
Mr. Birling is the main character that changes. At the beginning of the play he was exceedingly confident, however as he attempts to explain his part in Eva’s death his confidence is replaced by self-justification, and then by anxiety as he begins to comprehend what he has done, as Mr. Birling changes the tone changes. The audience can see that Mr. Birlings reactions change the tone of the room.
The timing of when characters exit and enter a scene produces drama. The timing of Inspector Goole is directly after Mr. Birling makes his speech he says “a man has to look after himself and his own". Mr. Birling also makes several points in this speech that Priestley disagrees with. Priestley conveys his ideas here as this quote completely contrasts the message he wants to send, therefore he has the inspector arrive straight after this to make what Mr. Birling has to say seem ridiculous. Priestley makes the inspector exit the scene just as they all feel the height of their guilt.
Throughout the play the ending is the climax of drama and tension. At the end of the play the audience are told by Mr. Birling “ a police inspector is on his way here – to ask some – questions.” It leaves the audience on a cliffhanger. The Birling family thought that they had got away with the parts they played in the death of Eva Smith; when they realised Inspector Goole was a fake and that no girl had ever died in the infirmary. Priestley releases some of the tension here, as the audience would feel the play is coming to an end and this was it. However the final telephone call announcing that a real inspector is on his way to enquire about a girl that did commit suicide in the infirmary, restores the tension very dramatically, because the tension level changes rapidly. There would have been less tension in the atmosphere when the Birlings’ thought they had got away with it, then suddenly the tension is restored after the phone call.
Priestley does this because not all of the Birling family learnt their lesson originally, some of them were not willing to take responsibility for their actions. Priestley conveys his ideas here as he is showing that you should learn from your mistakes and should accept responsibility.
Priestley changes the audiences’ opinion of the Birling’s as the play develops. At the beginning of the play the audience think that they are just a normal family, who are likeable even though Mr. Birling has an arrogant essence to his character; however towards the end of the play the audiences’ opinion of the Birling’s changes as the knowledge of the family’s history is shocking. The audience would be disappointed in some of the characters as they are unable to realise that their actions have caused a death. However by the audience thinking this Priestley has interested and involved them because they have developed emotion for the characters.
Priestley involves the audience here, as the audience would try to imagine how each of the characters is feeling. Priestley is also conveying his ideas here. The audience would realise that everyone is responsible for each other. Priestley interests and involves the audience by having a lot of tension in the play “An Inspector Calls”. Priestley also interests them by having an exciting plot and a wide range of characters. He involves the audience by using dramatic irony very early on in the play and using characters to put across his concerns, such as the inspector in his speech tells the Birling’s "each of you helped to kill her." This is not only aimed at the characters on stage but at the audience too.
Priestley’s message in “An Inspector Calls” is responsibility and how everyone is responsible for other people, we are all linked in society. This message is still relevant today because we still have responsibilities for other people and our actions do affect others.
