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In Course: GCSE English Literature: An Inspector Calls

GCSE An Inspector Calls: Context, Themes, and Dramatic Methods

Establish the core knowledge needed to analyse 'An Inspector Calls'. This deck covers J.B. Priestley's socialist intentions, the crucial context of the 1912 setting versus the 1945 writing date, the play's main themes like social responsibility and class, and key dramatic methods including dramatic irony and the structure of the 'well-made play'.

A dramatic, dimly lit photograph of an opulent Edwardian drawing-room, composed for a 3:2 landscape. Long, deep shadows stretch across expensive, antique furniture. In the foreground, an ornate, brass-and-wood antique telephone sits on a polished table, its receiver slightly askew, hinting at a recent disturbance or an imminent, unsettling call. A subtle crack in the grand plaster ceiling or a slightly tilted painting on the wall suggests an underlying instability within the lavish setting.

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Deck Contents

25 Cards
Lesson#1
This deck will give you the essential context, themes, and dramatic methods you need to analyse J.B. Priestley's 'An Inspector Calls'. We will explore why Priestley set the play in the past, his message about social responsibility, and the clever techniques he uses to make his audience think.
Lesson#2
One of the most important things to understand about 'An Inspector Calls' is its dual timeline. The play is set in 1912, a time of industrial prosperity, rigid class structures, and a widespread belief in progress. However, Priestley wrote it much later, in 1945, just as the Second World War was ending.
Quiz#3
In what year did J.B. Priestley write the play 'An Inspector Calls'?

1945

Quiz#4
In what year is the play 'An Inspector Calls' set?

1912

Lesson#5
This gap between the setting and the writing date is deliberate. The audience in 1945 knew what the characters in 1912 did not: that their world of comfort and certainty was about to be shattered by two devastating world wars and the Great Depression. This gap creates a powerful effect called dramatic irony.
Quiz#6
What major historical events occurred between the 1912 setting and the 1945 writing of 'An Inspector Calls'?

two World Wars

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