An Inspector Calls

        Dramatic irony is used early on in the play in many of Mr Birling’s speeches to his family. This is to make Mr Birling look obnoxious and stupid, making the audience feel negative towards Mr Birling himself and Capitalism. When Mr Birling says “And I say there isn’t a chancre war” he is wrong and in retrospect would have created some ‘dark humour’. Another example of dramatic irony is when Mr Birling claims the Titanic is “absolutely unsinkable” again Mr Birling was wrong making him look like his views, which he projects with certainty, look inaccurate.

        The lighting at the start of the play is “pink and intimate” setting a soft, warm and homely scene. This is used to make the mood seem like a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere, as if it were all well and good for the Birling family. When the Inspector arrives, the lighting changes to a “brighter and harder” tone, turning the attention to the Inspector and breaking the homely mood. The change of lighting throughout the play is a significant part of changing the tone of the play and strengthens the Inspectors personality.

        A door bell is used to queue then entrance of the Inspector. When the door bell rings, it cuts one of Mr Birlings Capitalist speeches short, beginning the Inspectors inquiry. Mr Birling had been advising Eric and Gerald that a man has to “look after himself” until the Inspector cut him short, similar to the Inspectors blunt and overpowering personality.

        The Inspector has a strong effect on all of the characters in the play due to his overwhelming personality, which makes him able to force certain character into confessing and silence other characters when he feels it isn’t their turn to talk. He interrupts and cuts into ‘irrelevant’ conversation frequently, for instance when Mr Birling asks the Inspector “why have you come here, Inspector –“, Inspector Goole cuts through his question sharply.

        A character exiting the set can further the plot in many ways of which it cannot when certain characters are on stage. This is because characters such as Gerald will reveal more to the Inspector after being made aware of the Inspectors vast knowledge of the past.