The plot, in outline

An Inspector Calls is set in 1912 in the Birlings' comfortable dining room, where the family is celebrating Sheila Birling's engagement to Gerald Croft.

• An Inspector Goole arrives, announcing that a young working-class woman, Eva Smith (later also called Daisy Renton), has died by suicide after drinking disinfectant.
• One by one, the Inspector reveals each character's part in her downfall: Mr Birling sacked her from his factory for asking for a pay rise; Sheila had her dismissed from Milwards out of jealousy; Gerald kept her as his mistress; Eric got her pregnant and stole money to support her; Mrs Birling, chairing a charity, refused her help.
• After the Inspector leaves, the family discover there may be no record of an "Inspector Goole" — the family argue over whether it even matters, since Sheila and Eric feel genuine guilt while the older generation and Gerald look for ways to dismiss it.
• The play ends with a twist: a phone call announces that a girl has just died on her way to hospital, and a real inspector is on his way to ask questions.

Shape: the play unfolds in real time, almost like an interrogation — each character's confession builds the case for collective responsibility.

Who did what

The key characters

• Arthur Birling — self-made capitalist, "hard-headed businessman"; proud, dismissive of responsibility, dramatically wrong about the future (the Titanic, war).
• Sybil Birling — his cold, snobbish wife; chairs a women's charity and refuses Eva help; refuses to accept blame.
• Sheila Birling — young, engaged to Gerald; changes and learns the most, becoming almost a second voice for the Inspector's message.
• Eric Birling — their son; drinks heavily, got Eva pregnant and stole money; also genuinely changes by the end.
• Gerald Croft — Sheila's fiancé, from an aristocratic family; kept Eva as his mistress; ultimately reverts to his old attitudes.
• Inspector Goole — mysterious investigator whose identity is left ambiguous; functions as a moral force and dramatic device.
• Eva Smith / Daisy Renton — the working-class victim, never seen on stage; represents the many "Eva Smiths" of society.

Generational split: Sheila and Eric (younger) learn and change; Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald (older/established) largely do not.

Character ↔ detail

Tap a character on the left, then tap the detail that fits them.

Themes that run through the play

• Social responsibility — Priestley's central message: we are all connected and answerable for each other's welfare.
• Class — the gulf between the wealthy Birlings/Gerald and working-class Eva Smith drives the whole plot.
• Gender — women like Eva have little power; Mrs Birling and Sheila hold very different levels of control over their own lives.
• Age (generations) — the older Birlings and Gerald resist change; Sheila and Eric represent hope for a different future.
• Capitalism vs socialism — Birling's individualism ("mind his own business") is set against the Inspector's collective, socialist message.

Link them: class and gender explain why Eva was vulnerable; the age divide shows who is willing to accept social responsibility as a result.

Naming the theme

Quotations worth learning

• "A man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own" — Birling's individualist creed, before the Inspector arrives.
• "The Titanic… unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable" — Birling's dramatic irony; the audience knows he is wrong.
• "We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other" — the Inspector's central message of social responsibility.
• "...fire and blood and anguish" — the Inspector's final warning of what awaits if people refuse to learn.
• "But these girls aren't cheap labour — they're people" — Sheila, showing she has begun to see Eva as a human being.
• "I did nothing I'm ashamed of" — Mrs Birling, refusing to accept any responsibility.

Learn short: a few embeddable phrases (e.g. "one body", "fire and blood and anguish") are worth more than long quotations you can't analyse.

Method → effect, every time

Naming a device earns almost nothing. Marks come from linking the method to the effect Priestley creates:

Methods to spot in An Inspector Calls: dramatic irony, stage directions, the Inspector as a device/mouthpiece, cyclical structure, foreshadowing, contrast between characters.

Golden rule: never stop at "this is dramatic irony." Finish the sentence: "…which suggests / emphasises / makes the audience feel …".

Method & effect

Name the method

Tap the method each moment mainly uses.

The world Priestley wrote for

An Inspector Calls was written in 1945, just after the Second World War, but is set in 1912, before the Titanic sank and before either World War. Context shapes the play's meaning:

• Priestley was a socialist who wanted post-war Britain to build a fairer, more collective society (the play appeared as the Welfare State was being established).
• Dramatic irony of the gap between 1912 and 1945: Birling's confident predictions (no war, the "unsinkable" Titanic) are all proven wrong, undermining his individualist worldview in the audience's eyes.
• Class structure: in 1912 Britain, rigid class divisions left working-class women like Eva with almost no protection or power.
• The play as a moral warning: written for a 1945 audience who had just lived through collective sacrifice in war, urging them not to return to pre-war individualism.

Weave, don't bolt on: use context to explain a choice — e.g. Birling's Titanic speech feels absurd because the 1945 audience already knew the ship sank.

Why the date gap matters

Which theme?

Tap a quotation, then tap the theme it best supports.

Write a method + effect point

Sheila's arc

Sheila is the character who changes the most. Track her development:

• Early: a happy, slightly spoilt young woman celebrating her engagement, unaware of her own role in Eva's downfall.
• Middle: she admits her jealous complaint got Eva sacked from Milwards, and is genuinely horrified — "But these girls aren't cheap labour — they're people."
• Late: she becomes almost a second voice for the Inspector, warning her parents and Gerald not to try to escape responsibility once he has gone.

Contrast: Sheila's growing conscience is deliberately set against her parents' and Gerald's refusal to change, making her Priestley's model for the audience.

Tracking the change

The Inspector's role

Knowledge slips to avoid

• Eva's names: she is called Eva Smith by the Birlings and Gerald, and Daisy Renton by Gerald and Eric — the same woman, one identity.
• Who did what: keep the order straight — Birling (sacked her) → Sheila (Milwards) → Gerald (mistress) → Eric (pregnancy, theft) → Mrs Birling (refused charity).
• The twist: it is left ambiguous whether Inspector Goole was "real" — the play does not confirm or deny this; a genuine inspector is coming regardless.
• Feature-spotting: naming a device (e.g. "dramatic irony") without the effect earns little.

Fix: get the sequence of confessions exactly right, then always push a quotation into method → effect.

What to take into the exam

You've drilled the knowledge and quotations for An Inspector Calls. Press Finish to see your score.