GCSE English Literature- An Inspector Calls form and structure

cyclical narrative

repetition of the phone calls

Ending

Cliffhanger

Genres

• Well-made play

• morality play

• Crime thriller

• Greek tragedy

Well-made play

• An intricate and complex plot

• The action builds to a climax

• Concerned with events that happen before the play

• Usually ends with a return to order

• It is easy to manipulate the audience - they don’t know what happened before the play, and each revelation adds to the drama

• Each character represents a problem in society and is revealed through the revelations - 7 deadly sins

Morality play

• Sought to teach the audience lessons that focused on the 7 deadly sins:
  Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride

• Teaches the audience a series of lessons - Priestley relates these to beliefs about social responsibility, age, gender and class

• Priestley delivers his beliefs of social responsibility through this genre- giving a moral lesson

Crime thriller

• Centres around the suicide of Eva Smith - initially as a suicide investigation and not a murder investigation with no clear suspect

• The behaviour of characters changes this

• Encourages audience to become involved in the events of the play

• Allows Priestley to deliver a message of social responsibility - reflect on actions as members of society

Greek tragedy

• Follows the three unities of time, place and action

• Time - the action of the play lasts as long as the play itself

• Action - only 1 plot line

• Place - everything takes place in 1 setting

• Usually, a Greek tragedy follows the downfall of a single character whose hamartia leads to their downfall- in this case, it's all the character’s downfalls

• Used to teach the audience about morally correct behaviour that fit the social normalities of that period and culture

• Priestley uses genre to deliver messages on socialism and social responsibility to show the consequences of wrongdoings