I am going to examine the first twelve pages of 'An Inspector Calls'. I will be discussing how important they are in the light of the play.

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20th Century Drama- Coursework Essay

I am going to examine the first twelve pages of ‘An Inspector Calls’. I will be discussing how important they are in the light of the play.

The stage directions given by Priestley are very accurate and are just the way he wants them. They are like this, not only to help make the play easier for when it is done on stage, but it is just the way the Birling’s would have lived for example ‘Good solid Furniture of the period’.

The lighting before the inspector arrives is pink and intimate ‘lighting…pink and intimate before inspector arrives’. This is to show that the atmosphere of the people in the room is friendly and quite comfortable. The lighting then changes when the inspector arrives to a bright and hard light. This shows that the inspector is harsh and the family is put under the spot light. Edna the maid changes the lighting that is told to do it by Mr Birling he says ‘give us some more light’. This is ironic because Mr Birling does not want to have a spot light on him and his family.

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Mr Birling definitely seems to be in charge and he loves to impress people. A quote to prove this is ‘its exactly the same port as your father gets’. Mr Birling also strongly believes in looking after himself and his family, but no others. A quote to prove this is ‘look after himself and his own’. Mr Birling also has a speech, which contains a lot of dramatic irony. For instance he mentions that the Titanic is an unsinkable ship. A quote to prove this is ‘an unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’. Mr Birling is also very about possibly getting a Knighthood. ...

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