Dramatic Devices Used in “An Inspector Calls”

In ‘An Inspector Calls’ J.B Priestley uses many dramatic devices to express his point. The effects of these devices are shock, surprise and a build up of tension within the audience. He uses dramatic devices to promote socialism and demote capitalism.

The first dramatic device Priestley uses in the play is stage directions. He starts the play off with a description of the Birlings dining room. From this we can gather that they are quite a well off family. Words such as ‘Champagne glasses’, ‘Prosperous’ backs up this impression we get of them. The reason Priestley does this is to make sure the reader knows of the characters’ background early on from the play. The Birling household is well respected and well off, a family benefiting from capitalism. The irony here is that most of the audience of the audience of that time who would have been watching it would have come from the same background, upper middle class citizens. The amazing effect of this is that like the Birlings, the audience would probably be less aware of people like Eva Smith and the consequences of capitalism therefore by the end of the play they will be shocked by it (more drama!).

Dramatic irony is also used to great effect in the play. Mr Birling states that “There isn’t a chance of war” and that the Titanic is “Absolutely unsinkable”. The play was written after two world wars and the reader knows that both events will occur. Priestley does this to make Mr Birling look ridiculous, like a fool, which could cause the audience to disagree with his capitalist ideas. Arguably another reason Birling is made to look ridiculous is to make the audience despise Mrs Birling even more caused by the fact that the audience could believe that Mr Birling is unintelligent therefore one should pity his idiocy rather than hate him for it. The inspector also says in his final speech that “They will be taught in fire and blood and anguish” referring to the wars that the audience know are going to happen. Priestley does this to show what the effects of capitalism will eventually cause. He wants the audience to agree with his socialist views and not with Mr Birlings capitalist ones. Irony is also shown in the ending of the play. When they discover that the Inspector was a fake and that no girl had died the adults celebrate, are back to where they started almost as if nothing had happened and then they get a call that a girl (presumably Eva Smith, although there’s no certainty) has committed suicide in the infirmary. The audience already know the true colours of all the characters and know what really happened.