Time is also an important theme of the play because it brings out the message that past events have consequences. The Inspector is trying to teach the Birlings that “we are responsible for each other” and if they do wrong on to others then “the time will soon come” when they will be punished “in fire and blood and anguish”. They can’t escape time. He does this by making them realise their selfish ways and punishes them through guilt and shame. The action takes place during one evening in the same amount of time it would take to watch the play. The audience feel like ‘flies on the wall’, which makes it more realistic as they feel that the play is actually happening in front of them. If the play had been set over days or weeks,it would have been less believable and less well-made.
J B Preistley was very interested in the work of time theorists such as J W Dunne who said that all are actions have consequences and people have the power to know what will happen in the future by what we do in the present. This theory can be seen in the play through all of the characters’ irrational actions causing the death of Eva Smith. He was also interested in the work of P D Ouspensky who said that we repeat events until we learn from them and so time is like a circle. The only way to escape the cycle is to change for the better. This happens in the play with the characters not learning from their mistakes so they have to repeat the evening with a new Inspector. When Gerald discovers that the Inspector is a hoax, he forgets his guilt and shame and is content with his past- “everything is all right now”. Mr and Mrs Birling are no longer in fear of the scars on their respectable reputation- “I’ll admit now he gave me a bit of a scare at the time”. The three characters are happy, that is why there is another phone call from the police informing the Birlings that another Inspector is on the way. This twist in time is another way of teaching the Birlings that they can’t escape the consequences of their actions. It gives the impression that if they don’t learn from the next Inspector, there will be another phone call and another until they show remorse and change in the future for the better. The way in which Preistley has incorporated these time theories shows how the play has become more than just a well-made play with a good story. It has a deeper, emotional message, which makes it stand out from other plays.
The plot is one of the most important components for a well-made play. If the play’s plot line is dull or fatuous, the audience will soon loose interest even if all the other classical unities are obeyed. ‘An Inspector Calls’ focuses on one plot only; the mistakes of a careless family and their dire consequences, all being revealed in one night by the help of the omnipotent Inspect Goole. It seems like Preistley uses the character of the Inspector for the purpose of keeping the focus of the play on one plot. Whenever the other characters start to drift into family arguments or any other sub-plots the Inspector “massively take[s] charge” and reinforces his dominance over the cast by continuing with his questioning. By doing this Preistley creates a simple story line which doesn’t confuse the audience and which makes the illogical ending more of a shock.
Just as the play uses one plot to keep it simple, there is only one place where all the action takes place therefore there is nothing that distracts the attention of the audience. The set is “substantial and heavily comfortable, but not cosy or homelike,” which is another theme running though the play - things may not be as they appear. The family is not really what they portray; they think they are honourable and devoted but in reality they are hiding the fact that they are distant and indecent. For example, the lighting for the dining room “should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder” representing the dramatic effect that the Inspector has on the family. They are celebrating the engagement of Gerald and Sheila and feeling “very pleased with life”. Every character is feeling confident and vainglorious until the hard Inspector arrives and brings them back down to reality. “Two hours ago a young woman died…” The lighting direction symbolises the way the Inspector ruins their celebration and how the family does not welcome his news.
There are other aspects in the play apart from time, place and action that assist the play in holding the audience’s attention and fulfilling the requirements of a well-made play. Priestley uses strategies within the plot such as withheld secrets, sequential action and exposition. The audience, thus identify with the drama because they too will have shared similar experiences in their personal lives. For example, all of the characters have a secret side to their personalities that they don’t want the rest of the family to find out about. Sheila has her vanity, Gerald has his lack of loyalty, Eric has his alcoholism, Mr Birling has is ruthless, money hungry attitude and Mrs Birling has her cold heart. In the play the Inspector reveals these true personalities to the rest of the family and to the characters themselves who are in denial of their flaws. Gerald and Eric in particular have suppressed secrets. They both have been having relations with Eva Smith, the girl who dies as a result of the Birling family’s neglect of social responsibility. The revealing of these secrets creates an exciting plot line that contributes to the play being well-made.
The structure of the play uses a series of climaxes and periods of tension especially through the Inspector’s sequential method of questioning, “one person and one line of inquiry at a time.” Therefore while the audience is watching one revelation they are wondering who is next and what crime they may have committed against humanity. This creates a ‘Whodunit?” theme with a difference: five guilty parties and no actual crime. This original technique gets the audience thinking and ultimately more involved in the play.
‘An Inspector calls’ has a small cast which helps the audience to learn more about the characters because they have more lines and they are focused on individually. We learn about the characters in detail with the exception of the Inspector Goole. We find out little about his personality and there is “no reason why you should” because that is not his purpose in the play. We shouldn’t know about him because he is supposed to be mysterious. He is the voice of Preistley and it wouldn’t be as effective if he had a detailed character.
When analysing Act Two in more detail, all the components of a well-made play fit perfectly together to form the play itself. Without this flowing structure then the impact of Preistley’s ending would be less effective. For example, at the end of Act One, the audience are left at the end of a climax. Gerald has revealed his affair to Sheila at a very convenient moment because the Inspector has just left the room with Eric. The act ends with the return of the Inspector, “looking steadily and searchingly at them” and saying, “Well?” This opens up a story line for the next act, which the audience predict; the questioning to Gerald and the continuing mystery of how the Inspector knows so much. Thus the audience are keen to watch the beginning of Act Two when Gerald is speaking “bitterly” and, “rather impatiently”. As he hears the horrific story come from his own mouth, he realizes his mistakes and begins to talk “distressed” and “apologetically.” This shows how the character reacts to his guilt and shame, by feeling depressed. Priestley continues to structure his scenes perfectly because as Gerald exits for a “walk about”, he misses the revealing of Eric’s and Mrs Birling's secrets. He finally returns just after the Inspector has left with his brilliant exposition that the Inspector must be a hoax. “That man wasn’t a police officer.” If the Inspector had still been there then the story line would have taken a different, more complicated turn because the Inspector would have had to explain himself. Such clever exits and entrances of the characters add to the pace and tension of the play.
However, there are ways in which ‘An Inspector Calls’ does not follow the rules of a well-made play. It finds loopholes that add to its gripping nature. Firstly, the play is not logical, which is a basic rule for any realistic drama. At the end of the play the sequence of time is repeated when Mr. Birling states, “A police inspector is on his way to ask some questions.” In spite of this, the play still makes sense. It is a metaphor for reality: we repeat events until we learn our lesson. Priestley would never have let Mr and Mrs Birling escape from the play without any guilt being shown for their crimes. In a way, the ending is more cruel on the characters. Just as they thought they were safe, Preistley takes their happiness away for a second time which leaves the cast staring “guiltily and dumbfounded as the curtain falls.” It is almost like Priestley is playing a joke on them. This loophole is used very well and to great theatrical effect which is why Priestley can afford to bend the rules.
Furthermore, the play can not be considered well-made because the Inspector is an unrealistic character. He gets too involved in his questioning and he goes to great lengths to make the characters feel guilty. For example, he says, “you can’t even say ‘I’m sorry Eva Smith’”. These aren’t the words of a Police Inspector because he is obviously arrives at the house with a definite agenda. Inspector Goole is not just any Inspector. He is there to teach the Birling family and indeed, society, a lesson. At the end of the play, Inspector Goole remains a mystery - not a typical conclusion to a well-made play. Nevertheless, the play succeeds because just before the curtain falls the audience witness one character admit to her failings. It is Sheila who finally relinquishes and shows remorse for her actions. After the night’s revelations she says, “I remember what he said…it frightens me the way you talk.” Priestley is indirectly suggesting here that if Sheila can break the cycle of repeating events because she has learnt her lesson, then there is also hope for society.
Overall, 'An Inspector Calls' follows the guidelines for a well-made play and when it doesn’t, it still entertains the audience. The play is a morality play with one main message, that the so-called respectable side of humanity is not all what they would have you believe. The Inspector is the voice of Preistley trying to reveal the truth about the upper classes and when the Inspector makes his final speech, it is Preistley speaking to the audience: “One Eva Smith has gone but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us”. He wants people to leave the theatre with a new mentality of how respectable citizens live and think twice before ever looking down on somebody because of their social status. I think that the play is very well-made and I agree with the moral that Preistley wants people to learn. To protest against class prejudice through drama is very difficult and this is why Preistley has had to bend the rules slightly. It was more important to him to communicate his message to the audience than to make the play realistic. Inspector Goole has a lesson for all of us: “We are all responsible for each other”.
