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Analysing Priestley's language choices is essential for achieving top marks at GCSE. An Inspector Calls may not have the poetic density of Shakespeare, but Priestley's dramatic language — his use of stage directions, rhetoric, repetition, irony, and carefully chosen imagery — is just as worthy of close analysis. This lesson equips you with the tools to write about language at a Grade 9 level.
Dramatic irony is the single most important language device in the play. It occurs whenever the audience knows something that the characters do not.
| Birling's line | What the audience knows |
|---|---|
| "The Titanic ... unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable" | The Titanic sank on 15 April 1912 |
| "I say there isn't a chance of war" | World War I began in 1914 |
| "In twenty or thirty years' time ... you'll be living in a world that'll have forgotten all these Capital versus Labour agitations" | Two world wars; the Labour Party won a landslide in 1945 |
| "We're in for a time of steadily increasing prosperity" | The Great Depression hit in the 1930s |
Dramatic irony serves several purposes:
Examiner's tip: When analysing dramatic irony, always explain the effect on the audience, not just the fact that it exists. Write: "Priestley uses dramatic irony to demolish Birling's credibility; the 1945 audience, having lived through two world wars, would recognise Birling's predictions as catastrophically wrong, undermining his capitalist philosophy."
Priestley's stage directions are unusually detailed and important. They function as a form of authorial commentary:
"The lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder" (opening stage direction)
| Before the Inspector | After the Inspector |
|---|---|
| "Pink and intimate" | "Brighter and harder" |
| Warm, comfortable, rose-tinted | Harsh, revealing, exposing |
| The Birlings' self-deception | The truth being forced into the open |
The lighting change is a visual metaphor — the Inspector brings the harsh light of truth into the Birlings' comfortable illusions.
Priestley uses stage directions to guide the audience's response to characters:
| Character | Stage direction | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Birling | "heavy-looking, rather portentous man" | Suggests self-importance; "portentous" implies he thinks he is more significant than he is |
| Mrs Birling | "a rather cold woman and her husband's social superior" | Immediately establishes her coldness and snobbery |
| Sheila | "a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life" | Establishes her as naive and sheltered |
| Eric | "not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive" | Something is already wrong — foreshadowing |
| Inspector | "an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness" | Moral authority — he dominates through presence |
Examiner's tip: Stage directions are Priestley's direct voice. Unlike dialogue (which belongs to the characters), stage directions tell you exactly what Priestley wants the audience to see and feel. Quoting stage directions shows sophisticated awareness of form.
The Inspector speaks with a distinctive rhetorical style:
"One person and one line of inquiry at a time."
"It's my duty to ask questions."
These short sentences create a sense of authority and control. The Inspector does not waffle or hedge — he speaks with the certainty of moral truth.
"millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths"
The triple repetition of "millions" emphasises the scale of the problem — Eva is not one individual case but represents an entire class of exploited people.
The Inspector rarely asks genuine questions — he already knows the answers. His questions are rhetorical devices designed to force confession:
"You think young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things?" (Act 2, to Mrs Birling)
This forces Mrs Birling to agree — and then the Inspector uses her own words against her.
The Inspector's final speech is a piece of oratory — persuasive public speaking:
"We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other."
| Feature | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| First person plural "we" | "We don't live alone" | Includes the audience — they are part of this too |
| Short, declarative sentences | "We are responsible for each other" | Moral certainty — no room for doubt |
| Tricolon | "their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering" | Builds emotional weight |
| Prophetic warning | "fire and blood and anguish" | Biblical tone — he speaks like a preacher or prophet |
Birling's language reveals his character through several features:
"I speak as a hard-headed, practical man of business" (Act 1)
Birling constantly tells people how important he is — the need to state it suggests insecurity about his social position.
"a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own"
Birling speaks in comfortable, well-worn phrases. His language lacks originality or depth — it is the language of a man who has never had to think critically about his own beliefs.
"I was an alderman for years — and Lord Mayor two years ago — and I'm still on the Bench" (Act 1)
Birling lists his achievements to assert status. He also name-drops: "I might find my way into the next Honours List" and mentions playing golf with the Chief Constable.
"fire and blood and anguish" (Inspector, Act 3)
Fire symbolises destruction and purification. The Inspector warns that society will be cleansed by fire if it does not reform — a reference to the world wars but also to the biblical idea of judgment by fire.
"fire and blood and anguish"
Blood suggests violence, war, and suffering. It connects to the trenches of WWI and the bombings of WWII.
The Inspector shows Eva's photograph to one person at a time. This has several symbolic functions:
The entire play takes place in the Birling dining room — a symbol of:
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