Techniques

Question 1

Repetition

Answer 1

The repetition of the stage directons: e.g [cutting in] - shows that everyone had something to say, whether it be the truth or not. the Inspector uses stage directions to interrupt Birling

Question 2

Symbolism

Answer 2

Mr and Mrs Birling symbolises capitalists
Sheil and Eric symbolise socialists along with the Inspector
The Inspector also symbolises joint responsibility and how it is necessary for it for society to function

Question 3

Setting and Lighting

Answer 3

The Setting and Lighting are very important. Priestley describes the scene in detail at the opening of Act 1, so that the audience has the immediate impression of a “heavily comfortable house.” The setting is constant (all action happens in the same place).
Priestley says that the lighting should be “pink and
intimate” before the Inspector arrives - a rose-tinted glow - when it becomes “brighter and harder.”
The lighting reflects the mood of the play.

Question 4

Dramatic Irony

Answer 4

The audience knows how wrong Mr Birling is when he makes confident predictions about there not being a war and is excited about the sailing of The Titanic: famously, the ship sank on her maiden voyage.
This puts the audience at an advantage over the characters and makes them more involved.

Question 5

Tension

Answer 5

• There is a lot of tension as each member of the family is found to have played a part in Eva’s death. New pieces of information contribute to the story being constructed. The audience is interested in how each
character reacts to the revelations.
Inspector himself adds drama:
• He controls the pace and tension by dealing with one line of enquiry at a
time. Slowly the story of Eva’s life is unravelled, like in a ‘whodunnit’.
• He is in command at the end of Act I and the start of Act 2, and the end of Act 2 and the start of Act 3. He is a brooding, inescapable presence, very much in control.

Question 6

Tone

Answer 6

There are numerous changes in tone. For instance, Mr Birling’s confidence is soon replaced - first by self-justification as he tries to explain his part in Eva’s death, and then by anxiety.

Question 7

Timing

Answer 7

Timing of entrances and exits is crucial. For example, the Inspector arrives immediately after Birling has told Gerald about his impending knighthood and about how “a man has to look after himself and his own.”

Question 8

Cliffhanger

Answer 8

In Act 3 the Birlings believed themselves to be off the hook when it is discovered that the Inspector wasn’t
real and that no girl had died in the infirmary. This releases some of the tension- but the final telephone call, announcing that a real inspector is on his way to
ask questions about the suicide of a young girl, suddenly restores the tension very dramatically.
It is an unexpected final twist.