Hello, it's Mrs. Butterworth here and I am ready for another English lesson.

Now, this lesson is all about an inspector call, so do make sure you have a copy of the text because we're going to need that throughout.

And we are focusing on the character of Mr. Birling, who really is a wonderful, if not particularly likeable character.

So should we get started? So in this lesson, you will understand the role, presentation and significance of Mr. Birling.

But before we start the lesson, let's look at some key words that we will need today in the lesson.

These words are dramatic irony, monologue, arrogance, and jovial.

Now, dramatic irony is a dramatic technique and this is a situation where the audience knows something that the characters do not.

So we're going to look today at how Priestley uses dramatic irony in his play.

Monologue is another dramatic technique, and this is a speech by one character.

Now, they usually express their thoughts or feelings, often delivered alone or to an audience within a play.

Arrogance is another word.

We're going to be using this to describe Mr. Birling.

Now, arrogance is all about thinking you are better or more important than others, and often in a way that is overconfident or dismissive.

So I can see many of you already thinking about how that connects to our character today.

And then we have the word jovial, which means cheerful, friendly and full of good humour.

So see if you can see that one in the lesson as well.

So the outline of our lesson looks like this.

We're going to start by introducing Mr. Birling, then we're going to look at Mr. Birling and his relationship to key themes before just thinking about our final impressions of Mr. Birling.

So let's get started.

So we have these images here.

There are three images.

I would like you to discuss, what is the significance of these images to act one of An Inspector Calls? Okay? So in a moment you'll need to pause the video, really have a look at those images and see if you can decide what the significance of these images is in relation to act one of An Inspector Calls.

So pause the video so you can discuss, or if you're working on your own, you can think quietly to yourself.

Off you go.

Okay, yes, well done to everyone that identified that the images all appear in Mr. Birling's speech in act one.

Okay.

So we've got some key images there that are used by Priestley in Mr. Birling's speech.

So with that in mind, I'd like you please to read Mr. Birling's speech.

Now, this is in act one and it's from page six, I'm delighted to page seven, we know, okay? And as you read, I just want you to identify those images in the text, okay? So pause the video to give yourself time to read that speech and familiarise yourself with that speech and think about those images.

Pause the video and off you go.

Okay, so those references, those images that Priestley so cleverly uses are all examples of dramatic irony, okay? So let's explore that in a little bit more detail.

So we've got the image here of the Titanic.

Now, Mr. Birling describes the Titanic as unsinkable, okay? So we also have to remember when the play was first performed, so 1945, but it was set in 1912.

So Mr. Birling in 1912 is describing the Titanic as unsinkable, but our 1945 audience knows that the Titanic sunk in 1912 when the play is set.

So you can see there, there's that dramatic irony happening.

We also get these images of war.

Again, think about this idea that the play is set in 1912, whereas the play was first performed and written after World War One and Two.

Now, Mr. Birling dismisses the idea of war.

He even says the word fiddlesticks, okay? But our audience knows that World War One began in 1914 and World War Two later in 1939, finishing in 1945 when the play was written.

So the play is coming out just after World War Two.

So again, we can see how that dramatic irony is happening, with Mr. Birling absolutely convinced there'll be no war and the audience sitting there going, well, we've just sat through two world wars.

And then we get the strikes as well.

Again, Mr. Birling rejects the idea of further labour strikes, and he even describes the talk of it as wild.

He's so self-assured, isn't he? But again, the audience knows that the period of 1911 to 1914 was actually called or referred to as the great unrest.

And this was a time when many strikes and labour disputes took place.

So we can really see how Priestley is using that dramatic irony in Mr. Birling's speech.

Now, thinking about this, why do you think that Priestley uses dramatic irony? What does it reveal about Mr. Birling? What does it tell us about his character? Pause the video so you can discuss those questions.

Sit quietly and think to yourself or even jot down a few ideas.

We'll feed back in a moment, okay? Pause the video.

Thank you for your suggestions.

Lots of you really starting to understand what Priesty is doing with this dramatic irony.

So let's just share some of those ideas.

So one of the things it does is it really highlights Mr. Birling's arrogance, doesn't he? He makes these really confident predictions.

There isn't a sense of any kind of tentative language happening there.

He makes these confident predictions, you know, fiddlesticks, and it makes him look really foolish to the audience, doesn't it? It really reveals his arrogance.

It also undermines Mr. Birling's authority.

So this dramatic irony makes, as we said, Mr. Birling look foolish and in turn undermines his authority.

So perhaps this foreshadows what will happen later with the inspector's interrogation.

So that authority is already starting to come unpicked at the beginning.

It also criticises the attitudes of the times.

So Priestley uses Mr. Birling to represent the flawed views of selfishness and overconfidence in the upper classes, okay? And also, it sort of encourages judgement , doesn't it? Because as an audience, we're almost looking at Mr. Birling and judging him for being so arrogant, for being so overly confident.

And it really, this dramatic irony discredits Mr. Birling.

And we're more likely as an audience to support Priestley's message about social responsibility.

So it's a really clever thing that Priestley is doing here by using that dramatic irony in that speech by Mr. Birling.

True or false time.

Mr. Birling, asserting that the Titanic is unsinkable is an example of dramatic irony.

Is that true or false? Tell me your answer now, please.

It's true.

Well done to everyone that said true.

But you need to say why that answer is true, why the statement is true.

Off you go.

Okay, I'm going to share my answer now.

Hopefully you have something similar.

So it's an example of dramatic irony.

Why? Because the audience knows the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.

This shows Mr. Birling's overconfidence and lack of awareness about future events.

The other thing you may have noticed when reading the play is that Mr. Birling speaks a lot, particularly in Act One.

He really dominates the conversation, doesn't he? And he continually demands the attention of his family.

He's not just happy with their presence, they have to be really listening.

Now, these speeches are called dramatic monologues, and Priestley uses these monologues for a number of purposes.

So the monologues show Mr. Birling's arrogance, yet again, they highlight Mr. Birling's power and domination over his family, and also in turn in society.

They expose his flaws and they also critique attitudes and emphasise Mr. Birling's capitalist views.

So they tell us a lot.

Okay, so we are on our first practise task and it's over to you to discuss two questions.

So the first question is, how does the use of dramatic irony shape your opinion of Mr. Birling as a character? So think back to everything we've looked at and discussed already and discuss that question.

You may want to consider the following.

Does his confidence about events make him seem foolish or do you think his opinions were reasonable for his time? How do you think an audience in 1945 versus a modern audience would react to these moments? So that's your first discussion question.

When you are ready, pause the video, get discussing, think quietly to yourself, or if need be, you could even jot some ideas down.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Off you go.

Great, thank you.

Some really lively discussions happening there about Mr. Birling and Priestley's use of dramatic irony.

Here is your second discussion question.

So number two is Mr. Birling delivers long monologues to assert his views.

How do you personally feel about his speeches? Okay? So how do you feel about them? So you may want to consider, do they make him seem like a powerful figure or do they highlight his flaws? How do you think Priestley wants the audience to react to Mr. Birling? So there's lots of that to think about there.

So pause the video and discuss how you personally feel about his speeches.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

That's really interesting to hear your opinions on that character and also how Priestley is presenting him.

So here is an example, an example answer for question one.

Let's read it through together.

Dramatic irony makes Mr. Birling seem foolish and arrogant.

His claim such as his assertion that the Titanic was unsinkable are wrong, undermining his authority.

A 1945 audience who likely lived through both wars would perhaps view his predictions as ridiculous.

A modern audience might see him as an example of a person who prioritises personal gain over social awareness.

So I'd like you just to spend a few moments, please, discussing, do you agree or disagree with that answer to question one.

So think back to your own discussions.

Off you go.

Great.

And here is an example for question two.

So this one was about his monologues and how that made you feel.

So Mr. Birling's long monologues show his arrogance and needs to dominate, dismissing others like Eric and Sheila.

Personally, these speeches might feel frustrating because they highlight how he dismisses people who challenge him.

Perhaps Priestley wanted audiences to feel irritated by Mr. Birling's self-importance and question whether people like him should hold power.

Interesting.

I'd like you now to spend a few moments thinking back to your own discussions and then discuss, do you agree or disagree with this answer for question two? Pause the video, off you go.

Well done, everyone.

Some really lively discussions happening there and it's really lovely to hear your own opinions and personal responses to the text and the characters.

But we need to move on to the second part of the lesson, which is all about Mr. Birling and key themes.

Now, Priestley uses his characters in An Inspector Calls to explore his key themes and messages.

So for Mr. Birling, we can think about two really significant themes and these are social responsibility and class and power.

So I'd like you, please, to do a little bit more reading.

So I'd like you to read part of Mr. Birling's monologue in act one.

So this is on pages nine and 10.

From page nine solemnly to page 10 and.

And then when you've finished your reading, I'd like you to discuss, please, what is Mr. Birling's attitude towards social responsibility and how is his attitude presented? You'll need to pause the video to give yourself time to read that short extract and then discuss those questions.

Off you go.

Great work.

So let's share some ideas.

So Mr. Birling's attitude towards social responsibility is selfish and dismissive.

It reveals Mr. Birling's attitude as focused on profits and his own success, not caring about others.

And Priestley uses Mr. Birling to show the dangers of ignoring social responsibility and the harm caused by selfish capitalist views.

So perhaps you came up with something similar.

Now, let's think about how his attitude is presented now.

So Mr. Birling repeats the words, own and himself.

So this really emphasises his selfish mindset and belief in individual responsibility.

He constantly repeats those words, doesn't he? He also uses that really interesting, simile where he compares the community to bees.

And this shows that he views working together as unnatural, ridiculous, because for Mr. Birling, we're not bees, we're human beings.

We shouldn't be living like communities or hives.

So you can see how Priestley's using that simile to present Mr. Birling's attitude.

And then he refers to those who do believe in social responsibility as cranks.

Okay? He talks about those cranks who are spreading this message and he dismisses the whole idea as nonsense.

Okay, so let's see how much you remember.

Which word does Mr. Birling use to describe those people who advocate for social responsibility? Is your answer A, B, or C? Tell me now, please.

Okay, well done to everyone that remembered it was cranks.

Yes.

He calls people that advocate for social responsibility, cranks.

You also may have noticed in your reading that Mr. Birling's treatment of people is different in relation to their social class.

So if we think about his responses to Gerald, So Mr. Birling respects Gerald because of his higher social status and sees a marriage alliance with his family as beneficial for business.

Like Mr. Birling really pours over Gerald at the start, doesn't he? You know, he talks about how it's the happiest moment in his life that they're getting married and references Gerald's parents, like he really pours over Gerald.

Whereas with Eva Smith, he treats her really dismissively, he fires her for asking for fair wages and it shows how he values profit over people.

So there's a real juxtaposition there in how Mr. Birling treats Gerald and Eva Smith in relation to their social class.

So I'd like you, please, to discuss thinking about that information.

What does this tell us about Mr. Birling's attitude towards class and power? Okay? Pause the video so you can discuss your answers.

Think quietly to yourself or jot down some ideas.

Pause the video and off you go.

Great.

So really perceptive, interesting ideas coming through there.

So thank you.

So you may have thought about Mr. Birling's attitude because what Priestley does with Mr. Birling's attitude is he critiques the following aspects of class and power through his attitude.

So we know that there's the exploitation of the working class.

So his treatment of Eva Smith highlights how the upper classes prioritise profit over fairness and workers' rights.

So for him, his attitude is all about getting the most that he can from his workers, leading to exploitation.

There's a side here of social division.

So Mr. Birling's disdain for those outside his class reinforces the rigid and unfair class system.

You know, he's really dismissive constantly about the people that work for him.

He talks about them as those.

So you can really see his disdain for people outside of his own class.

And there is also a misuse of power.

Mr. Birling constantly tries to use his influence to avoid responsibility.

He tries to intimidate the inspector and justifies his selfish behaviour.

All of that name dropping shows that he's Lord mayor, all of that kind of stuff.

He's really trying to use his power and in turn misuses his power, trying to avoid responsibility.

So what I would like you to do now, please, is complete the grid linking Mr. Birling's attitude with evidence from the text.

So I've done the first example for you.

So you can see here there's the theme of social responsibility, Mr. Birling's attitude, so rejects collective responsibility and prioritises himself, and the evidence from the text is repetition of own and himself.

So we're looking at those themes, what Mr. Birling's attitude is towards these themes and evidence from the text.

Make sure you have everything you need to be able to complete this task and pause the video and we'll feed back in a moment.

Off you go.

Okay, great, well done, everybody.

So I'm just going to show you a completed grid.

So here is how you could have completed the task.

So if you have something different, that's fine.

If you have some gaps, now is a really good time to fill in those gaps, okay? So I'm gonna share these all.

So just make sure your grid is completed.

So for social responsibility, we've looked at that first row, let's look at the next one.

His attitude is that social responsibility is to be ridiculed and he's very dismissive.

So we've got the simile for the bees and he uses words like nonsense and cranks.

Then by class and power, his attitude is that people of different classes should be treated differently.

So he talks about how he's delighted with Gerald, but treats Eva Smith sharply.

So again, you can see that real juxtaposition between the language and how he treats people.

And his attitude is that he uses power to exploit others and increase own wealth, the way he views his people as labour, okay? So there's lots of evidence there that you can use to show Mr. Birling's attitude towards those key themes.

So we are now onto the final section of our lesson.

So we have looked at Mr. Birling in quite a lot of depth and now I want us to think about those final impressions of Mr. Birling.

So let's look at some quotations that explore Mr. Birling at the start of the play and at the end of the play.

So let's look at these quotations.

So he speaks humorously at the beginning of act one.

Act three, he behaves jovially.

Act one, we know that he dismisses social responsibility as nonsense.

Act three, he refers to the inspector's story as moonshine.

Act one, those who advocate for social responsibility, he calls them cranks.

And then in act three he mocks the inspector.

It says that he imitates him and he mocks Sheila and Eric for not seeing the joke.

So these quotations are very revealing.

So what I would like you to discuss is what do you notice about Mr. Birling at the beginning of the play and Mr. Birling at the end of the play? What do you notice? So pause the video.

You may want to reread those quotations again and pause the video to discuss your answers to the question and think quietly to yourself.

Off you go.

So you may have noticed that Mr. Birling remains unchanged at the end of the play.

His actions, his behaviour, his attitudes in at the end of Act Three, almost mirror Act One, don't they? It's really interesting seeing them side by side.

And Priestley does this for a number of reasons.

So he does this to show Mr. Birling's unchanging attitude.

He's not affected at all, is he, by what the inspector has said.

And what this could suggest is that the upper classes are resistant to change and blind to their moral failings.

True or false, Mr. Birling's attitude towards social responsibility changes at the end of the play.

Is that true or false? Give me your answer now, please.

Okay, excellent.

Well done to everyone that said false because that is the answer.

But you now need to tell me why that statement is false.

So come up with your answer now.

Okay, so here's my answer.

Hopefully you have something similar.

At the end of act three, Mr. Birling is still focused on reputation and relieved that the idea that the inspector's visit was a hoax.

He shows no change in his attitudes and beliefs.

So I'd like you to read a section of the play now.

So I'd like you to read act three from page 70 to 72 from triumphantly to the very end of the play.

And I'd like you to discuss, please, how does Mr. Birling's reaction differ from Sheila and Eric's and why do you think Priestley has done this? Okay? So you're gonna need to pause the video to give yourself time to read that section and then discuss those questions and we'll feedback in a moment.

Pause the video and get reading.

Okay, let's just share some feedback.

So you probably picked up that there is a real difference in reactions, isn't there? So Mr. Birling denies responsibility, focusing on reputation, while Sheila and Eric, they really accept guilt and learn from the experience.

They're so different to their parents, aren't they? They feel really changed.

They appear really changed by the experience.

And Priestley's purpose.

So Priestley may have done this to highlight the generational divide to show how hope lies with younger people.

He suggests that change requires rejecting selfish attitudes like Mr. Birling's.

Okay, so your final task now.

So thinking about everything that we've looked at in this lesson, everything we've discussed and explored, I would like you to write a paragraph summarising the character of Mr. Birling.

So like I just said, you can use your ideas and quotations from task A and B.

So you've got your sentence starters there.

Mr. Birling is presented as, initially, as the play progresses, and finally.

When you're ready, pause the video and write that summary paragraph.

Okay, so here is a completed paragraph for you to have a look at.

So you may have some different things, that's absolutely fine.

It may be even better than this.

You may also want to just add or change some things to your own paragraph, but let's read it through you together.

Mr. Birling is presented as an arrogant and selfish character.

Initially he is confident in his beliefs and dismissive of others' ideas.

He describes the Titanic as unsinkable and calls talk of war, fiddlesticks.

The dramatic irony here shows he is ignorant and highlights Priestley's criticism of people like him.

As the play progresses, Mr. Birling refuses to take responsibility for Eva Smith's death.

This shows he is selfish and focused only on protecting his own interests.

Finally, Mr. Birling is relieved when he believes that the inspector's visit was a hoax and dismisses the whole thing as moonshine, suggesting he has not changed.

Priestley uses Mr. Birling to criticise the upper classes and their refusal to take responsibility for others.

So what I would like you to do now is just to check through your own paragraph, make sure you have included some quotations and this is just a really nice opportunity just to check through and see if you want to add anything to.

So pause the video and off you go.

Well done, everyone.

We have completed our exploration of the character of Mr. Birling and I hope you agree, he is such an interesting character, even if he is a little bit frustrating and incredibly unlikeable.

But let's just read everything we have learned today.

We know that Priestley uses dramatic irony to establish the character of Mr. Birling as foolish, Priestley uses both monologues and dramatic irony to emphasise Mr. Birling's arrogance.

Priestley uses Mr. Birling to critique the upper class attitude towards social responsibility, class and power.

And the end of the play emphasises the generational conflict between the younger and older Birlings.

Thank you so much for all of your hard work today.

Let's do it all again soon.

Yes? Great.

I will see you then.