How does J.B Priestley use dramatic devices to convey his concerns and ideas to members of the audience as well as interest to involve them in the play?

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How does J.B Priestley use dramatic devices to convey his concerns and ideas to members of the audience as well as interest to involve them in the play?

    “An Inspector Calls”, is a detective fiction/mystery play written and performed in 1945 by J.B Priestley.  The play begins with Arthur Birling, a “rather portentous” business man, and his family celebrating the engagement of Mr Birling’s daughter, Sheila, to Gerald Croft (son of Mr. Birling’s business rival). Later on in the play a so called Inspector, last name Goole, appears at the Birling home saying he is making inquiries into the suspicious suicide of a “working-class” girl who went by the name of Eva Smith. The inspector begins to find that every member of the Birling family, including Gerald, had at one point had some involvement with Eva Smith. The audience start to ponder whether the Inspector is really looking to inquire about the death, or to make the Birlings realise they all have responsibilities as members of their community, and that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

    The play has a very significant social context. It is set in 1912; this year was very different from the time it was performed in 1945. During his life, Priestley was very able to follow the path of going to university; instead he thought he would get a better feel for the world around him away from academia and became a clerk for a local wool firm at the age of 16. When World War One started, he joined the infantry where he escaped death many times. He felt that wars only caused bloodshed (as he had seen this in person), and could be avoided thorough respect between countries. He then started writing his plays, which contained ground-breaking, controversial and strong political messages.  In the 1930’s, Priestley became concerned about social inequality in Britain; there were class divides, and women weren’t treated as equals during the time, he set up the Common Wealth Party which campaigned for more democracy, and equal rights throughout Britain.

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   The year in which the play is set (1912) and the year in which it was performed (1945), hold crucial importance in the play. The Titanic sank just weeks after the play is set, labour strikes take place and WW1 starts just 2 years later. This all links back to the idea of dramatic irony. This is also Priestley’s way of showing the audience of how those incidents had divided the nation. The incidents are also used for dramatic irony.

   J.B Priestley uses foreshadowing and dramatic irony, very early on in the play. There are a few reasons ...

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