How does Priestley build dramatic tension at the end of Act two of An Inspector Calls?

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Rosie Murdoch        L5R        English Coursework

How does Priestley build dramatic tension at the end of Act two of An Inspector Calls?

J.B Priestley builds up dramatic tension in An Inspector Calls in Act Two in a number of skilful ways which are apparent from the beginning. The tension heightens with dramatic irony, the revealing of information slowly and gradually, keeping the audience waiting between each Act and keeping them “on the edge of their seats” and furthermore in the way in which he uses stage directions. From the start, characters seem to have something to hide. By the end of Act two Mr and Mrs Birling are reluctant to tell the inspector any information and Gerald often lies. As the play continues, the younger generation definitely gain more power and control over the older generation. Dramatic tension is when the audience feels tense and in suspense. The audience wants to know what is going to happen next. They have to wait and this builds up the tension.

The play was written in 1945 and was first performed in 1946. It was set in 1912 which was a few years before the First World War and the Russian revolution and was the time when there was a great deal of social inequality. Birling refers to some of the displeasure that was happening in the world. The tension is already built up here as the audience knows that there will be conflict between the differences of opinions. As the play was written in 1945, the audience knows more than the characters about what happens in the future. This builds up the tension as the audience knows what the characters are right or wrong about and this leads us to speculate about what else they may be wrong about. The play is in real time, this helps to build up the dramatic tension as there are a few seconds between each act. Priestley ends the acts with a high moment of drama so the audience is left waiting. The whole play is set in only one place, the Birling’s dining room. This is a static setting which allows the atmosphere to change suddenly from a warm and relaxing atmosphere into a bright and tense one. When the doorbell rings, the audience is left waiting for a few seconds as the inspector has to be led into the dining room, this adds to the tension.

The play consists of the Birlings, Arthur Birling, Sybil Birling, Sheila Birling and Eric Birling, Eva Smith, Gerald Croft and inspector Goole.

 Mr Arthur Birling is described at the beginning as a “heavy looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties but rather provincial in his speech.” He is an optimistic and selfish man and boasts about his business and what he has achieved in life. He believes that people should not form communities and that “a man has to make his own way.”

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Mrs Sybil Birling is described at the beginning as “about fifty, a rather cold woman and her husband’s social superior.” From the start we can tell that class is very important to her “Girls of that class...” which shows she is very snobbish. She thinks that she is superior to working class people like Eva Smith. She still treats her daughter Sheila as a child and speaks to her in a very patronising way. She tends to deny that some things are true for example Eric’s heavy drinking. This shows that she wants her family to be perfect and feels ...

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