Language Techniques

Question 1

Explain how the title of the play creates dramatic irony in Act One.

Answer 1

The title suggests to the audience that an Inspector is going to visit. This means that the audience is expecting the “quiet little family party” at the start of Act One to be disrupted.

Question 2

The Birlings and Gerald often use euphemisms. Give an example of this from the play and explain what is really meant.

Answer 2

In Act Two, Gerald talks about “women of the town”, when he means prostitutes.

Question 3

Why does the Inspector avoid using euphemisms?

Answer 3

The Inspector doesn’t use euphemisms because he believes in accepting the truth — he wants the Birlings to face the reality of how things are, not cover things up.

Question 4

The Inspector describes how the disinfectant Eva / Daisy drank “Burnt her inside out”.
What is the effect of the Inspector’s use of graphic imagery on the audience?

Answer 4

The graphic imagery is shocking to the audience and means they can’t avoid thinking about the unpleasant reality of what happened to Eva / Daisy. This creates sympathy for her and affects the way the audience judges the Birlings for their roles in her death.

Question 5

The Inspector’s reference to “fire and blood and anguish” echoes the description of the end of the world in the Bible.
What is the effect of this religious imagery?

Answer 5

• The imagery makes the Inspector’s words
  seem shocking and terrifying — the link with
  the end of the world hints at the severity of
  the Inspector’s message.
• It makes the Inspector seem like a god-like
  figure who has come to judge the Birlings
  and warn them of the dangers of not
  changing their actions.