Dramatic Device

Another dramatic device is were Mrs Birling is telling the inspector about a young girl (Eva Smith) who had used her family name, Mrs Birling, in the charity organisation were she is chairwomen. Mrs Birling tells the inspector how she turned this desperate girl away when she was pregnant with Eric’s baby. Mrs Birling does not know this but the audience do (dramatic irony). Priestley does this deliberately so we, the audience, dislike her.

This shows how Mrs Birling played a part in Eva’s death.

Mrs Birling sets herself up for a huge downfall which the audience know will happen but they do not know when. This is a dramatic device which creates interest for the audience who then realise that this is a recurring pattern of the play, were characters speak one by one in dramatic irony and they let themselves in for a major collapse. The Inspector questions them individually building them up so they reveal how that particular character was involved in Eva’s death.

The writer uses many dramatic devices, apart from the play being set only in the dining room, Priestley uses lighting to create an atmosphere and change in mood. At the beginning of the play a pink cosy intimate lighting is used in the dining room when the family are happy and chattering. The mood changes when the inspector enters the room and it becomes unpleasant and uneasy, the lighting becomes brighter and harsher. Here Priestley lets the audience know that there is to be a change in the drama which will create more entertainment and suspense.

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The stage directions show this: “The lighting should be pink and intimate until the inspector arrives, then it should be brighter and harsher.”

Dramatic Devices In An Inspector Calls

Stage directions for the characters make the play more appealing for the audience. “Birling and Mrs Birling exchange bewildering and rather frightened glances.” Priestley shows us here that the Birlings are worried and scared abut losing their reputation if people find out that they are involved in Eva Smith’s death. They are not concerned at all about the suicide of Eva but they are just concerned about themselves. By doing this Priestly ensures that the audience continue to dislike the Birlings. Stage directions are a useful dramatic device as Priestley uses this to his advantage by manipulating the audience into forming a bad relationship with these particular characters.

At the end of each act Priestley uses a cliff-hanger ending. At the end of act one Sheila and Gerald are trying to cover up that they are involved in Eva’s death, when suddenly the inspector enters interrupting them, “Well.” By using cliff-hanger endings he creates tension, interest and suspense. Priestley teases the audience towards the next act so they continue to be interested in the play and carry on to enjoy the drama. At the start of the next act the audience will be eager and excited to find out the next part of the story. This is why “An Inspector Calls” has a strong appeal to audiences today.

One theatrical device which is used throughout the play to create interest for both the audiences and characters is the photograph of Eva Smith. This dramatic device is used by the Inspector to create a more tense drama. The photograph of Eva Smith is shown to each character individually by the inspector. This makes the audience and characters curious as to what the girl may look like. During “An Inspector Calls” both the family and audience find that Eva Smith has been using different names including Mrs Birling and Daisy Renton.

Different family members show the audience their involvement with the young girl but under different identities after the inspector shows them the photograph. At the end of the play after the inspector has left, the characters wonder if it was the same photograph they had each been shown, or whether it was two different photographs of two different girls. This information only comes about after the family think the inspector is a fake and it was just a joke.

Priestley does this purposely for the audience and to make them think. This heightens the sense of drama for the audience. “And how do we know she was really Eva Smith or Daisy Renton?” This is a hope by Gerald and the family as they do not want to lose their reputation and their aspiring upper class respect. This frustrates the audience as they want the photograph to be the same one so the family will then get the comeuppance that they deserve for being a part of Eva’s suicide. The audience also want their reputation to be destroyed. This is why the audience enjoys the play as it is a dramatic thriller which involves them in a tense and entertaining way.

“An Inspector Calls” by J.B Priestley is still one of the most frequently performed plays ranging from 1945-2002 and it has a strong appeal to a wide age range of people. It is a dramatic drama which involves the audience throughout by using dramatic and theatrical methods to portray the plays strong message. J.B Priestley wants people to stop being so complacent and start thinking about others more than themselves. He wants his audience to learn from his play that “I” is not always more important then “We” and that we should work as a community. The Inspector important speech shows this, “We are responsible for each other.”

The play is still relevant to audiences today because people still have not learnt Priestley’s message as war and disastrous events still are happening today. This is not the right way to live. Priestley wants people to understand his message and act on it, and not just listen. If the whole would work together and not against each other as enemies, we would live in a more peaceful and happier world. The playwright says the younger generation learn quicker than the older generation were change occurs slower, but if people of all ages, all cultures, and all religions can understand the message of “An Inspector Calls” we can all learn to change for the better and care for each other.