Creating And Sustaining Dramatic Tension

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Discuss the ways in which J.B Preistley creates and sustains dramatic tension in ‘An Inspector Calls’ ‘An Inspector Calls’ was written by socialist author J.B Preistley in 1945; however, the play was actually set in 1912. This is because 1912 was a year in which there were many technological advancements being made and the middle classes were thriving. It was also crucial to the plot in many ways; Eva Smith was involved in the type of strike happening in Britain around the time. It also helps to create drama and adds humour to the play when Mr Birling says how there will never be a war; everyone has too much to lose. The audience know, because they are living after 1945 that a couple of years after Mr Birling says this, war does break out. This creates dramatic irony and makes Mr Birling look foolish which will entertain the audience. ‘An Inspector Calls’ is a didactic play; a play that tries to teach you something or put across a moral message. The message that J.B Preistley was trying to get across to the audience is the importance of community and how it is important not to just look after your own. However, because J.B Preistley was writing a play for the commercial theatre, he knew that people coming to watch it wouldn't simply want to be lectured about the importance of the community in which they lived. Preistley now faced the challenge of writing a play that would not only get his message across to the audience but would also entertain them. Preistley could not simply narrate his message to the audience, however, he needed a character that would do this for him. This was the purpose of the Inspector, for during his time at the Birling household, he wasn't trying to find the Birlings’ guilty of an actual crime but to make them feel responsible for the girl’s suicide. J.B Preistley used the Inspector as his mouthpiece because the Inspector had the same
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