1. First 15 mins - last 2 presentations!
An Inspector Calls
Learning Intention: To respond to texts critically, using a range of textual detail
to evaluate language and illustrate and support interpretations (AO1 and AO2) !
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Key words: textual detail, interpret, analyse, evaluate
Thursday 5th Feb
2. Important things to consider
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Answers should….!
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be relevant – you don’t need to write everything you know about the text,
only the things that relate to the question!
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be sufficiently detailed - it is better to give a lot of detail about a small part
of the text than trying to cover lots of different points!
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be well structured with a clear introduction which addresses the question
and a clear conclusion that returns to the question!
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use effective vocabulary including literary terms where relevant!
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use well-chosen evidence/quotations to support points.
3. Good candidate work will respond
personally to the text, and will typically:
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explain the effects of Priestley’s uses of language, structure
and form, e.g. “The Inspector is powerful, which is shown by
the way he uses language to give commands but usually in a
controlled, calm way‟.!
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use well-chosen quotations succinctly to support their
points.!
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make appropriate comments on ideas/themes/settings, e.g.
“Mr and Mrs Birling show how snobbish and uncaring
society could be at that time‟.
4. !
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To gain a top mark, candidates should show an
enthusiastic, critical and evaluative response. The best
candidates concentrate on comment, not content, and
the author’s methods and achievements. Excellent
responses are analytical and exploratory. This means
that candidates “write a lot about a little‟, considering
the impact of individual words and sounds and often
thinking about possible alternative interpretations.
5. For example:
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“Gerald is presented as a character who wants to align himself
with Mr Birling – perhaps he is just on his best behaviour, or
perhaps he is trying to show his similarities to Mr Birling, the
successful business-man and head of the family. There is one
moment when what Gerald says provides a hint of past conflict
between him and Sheila: “And I’ve told you - I was awfully busy
at the works”. The use of “and” at the beginning of this statement
suggests that this is not the first time he has had this disagreement
with Sheila. Gerald is being presented as a character who is trying
to fit in with the Birlings, but may have secrets that will come out.
This establishes a sense of drama to be unfolded for the audience.‟
6. How does Priestley present the change in Sheila during the course
of the play ‘An Inspector Calls’? How do you think this change
reflects some of Priestley’s ideas?
7. How does Priestley present the change in Sheila during the course
of the play ‘An Inspector Calls’? How do you think this change
reflects some of Priestley’s ideas?
It is through Priestley’s portrayal of his characters that the audience understand his overarching
messages in ‘An Inspector Calls’. The playwright’s utilisation of Sheila throughout the play
explores the notion that the young are vehicles of change within society. Her use of language, her
contrasting ideas to her parents and her evident change during the course of the play gives
Priestley’s contemporary audience an insight into how modern society and the ideals it upholds,
were perhaps fairer and more just than the Edwardian era in which the play is set. Priestley uses
Sheila to convey ideas about the role of individuals in a society and the responsibility of each and
everyone of us.
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From the opening of the play, Sheila Birling is a central figure who is described in the opening
stage directions as ‘very pleased with life, and rather excited.’ Her comfortable lifestyle is funded
by men like her father and fiancé as women lacked defined working roles during the Edwardian
era. The fact that she is ‘rather excited’ seems to suggest that she has a child-like demeanour and
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8. 15 minutes- 2 paragraphs
How does Priestley present the change in Sheila during the course
of the play ‘An Inspector Calls’? How do you think this change
reflects some of Priestley’s ideas?
Success Criteria
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Point/topic sentence linked
to question
Evidence which has been
precisely selected
Analysis of the quotation at
word level
Development of
interpretations
Evaluation of Priestley’s
purpose and his intended
effects on his audience
9. PEER ASSESS- WWW and EBI
How does Priestley present the change in Sheila during the course
of the play ‘An Inspector Calls’? How do you think this change
reflects some of Priestley’s ideas?
Success Criteria
!
Point/topic sentence linked
to question
Evidence which has been
precisely selected
Analysis of the quotation at
word level
Development of
interpretations
Evaluation of Priestley’s
purpose and his intended
effects on his audience
Band 6
Band 5
Band 4
Band 3
Band 2
11. Half term homework - read and
annotate Act 3.
BBC version - on YouTube - try to watch!
12. Points for Discussion
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Social vs. individual responsibility - “We don‟t live alone. We are members of one body.‟ So states Inspector Goole in his
final speech. His character can be seen as a device to voice Priestley‟s views about social responsibility. To what extent do
the other characters learn from their encounter with Goole, and how far do members of the audience agree with him?!
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Older vs. younger generations - “Why are Mr and Mrs Birling so much more concerned about the potential for “public
scandal” than the consequences of their behaviour? Sheila and Eric Birling represent the future: surely there is still time
for them to change and adapt to the new order? Can their relationships with the other characters, more entrenched in
their views and social positions, survive?”!
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Staging - Detailed stage directions are provided, but Priestley himself makes clear that “an ordinary realistic set” may not
do the play justice. What staging decisions can enhance the drama and tension, and how can recent productions inform
our understanding of the lasting significance of this play?!
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Status and power - At first, the main characters are united in their desire for social status. The arrival of Inspector Goole
undermines the natural paths of authority within the household, so how does power shift as the action progresses?!
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The place of women - Represented by Sybil and Sheila Birling, the servant Edna and the invisible but omnipresent Eva/
Daisy, women are seen variously as innocents, social climbers, victims and suspects. How are issues of gender played out
and do they enrich or detract from the moral and political messages?!
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Genre - A murder mystery, a ghost story or a parable? The deceptively simple play follows the “three unities‟ (time, space
and action) of Greek drama, but can be read in a number of ways.
