Hello and welcome.

Thank you for joining me in the lesson today.

My name is Mrs. Butterworth.

And in this lesson, we will be focusing on the play "An Inspector Calls." So do make sure you have access to a copy of that text before we begin this lesson.

Now, in this lesson we will be focusing on Priestley.

The writer's use of structure, how he builds tension, and also thinking about that all important ending, and what Priestley might have been doing with that.

Sound good? Great.

Then, let's get started.

So in this lesson, you'll understand and explain how Priestley uses structure for effect in "An Inspector Calls." Let's look at some key words that you will spot throughout the lesson today.

And these all link to Priestley and his use of structure.

These words are suspense, tension, cliffhanger, ambiguous and cyclical.

Now, suspense and tension are quite similar.

Now, suspense is the excitement or nervousness an audience feels while waiting to see what will happen next.

When you're waiting for something.

Something to happen or what will happen next, that's that feeling of suspense.

And likewise, tension is that feeling of unease or stress an audience feels at moments of conflict or uncertainty.

So if you found yourself watching something before when you were like, "Oh, I can't stand this.

What's gonna happen?" You've definitely experienced tension.

Then, we've got a cliffhanger.

Now, a cliffhanger is where a story or text ends suddenly, okay? There's no explanation.

It just ends.

And it might leave audiences in suspense.

So you're like, "Oh, what just happened? What's gonna happen next?" So a cliffhanger gives you that feeling.

Then we've got this word ambiguous.

And that means that something is unclear or has more than one possible meaning, or it's open to interpretation.

So, something that's not certain or unclear, we could describe as ambiguous.

And then we've got this word cyclical.

And this means something that is going in circles or retaining to the same point over and over again.

So we're going to be thinking today about "An Inspector Calls" and Priestley's use of a cyclical structure.

So the outline of our lesson looks like this.

We're going to begin by looking at tension and suspense, and then focus that final part of the lesson on the ending.

So first, I would like you to discuss, please, why do you think tension and suspense are important in a play like "An Inspector Calls"? So I want to hear your thoughts first.

So, pause the video so you can discuss your answers to this question or think quietly to yourself.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

Thank you for your input there.

So, you may have considered some of the following.

So tension and suspense, they keep the audience engaged, don't you? It's that feeling of you don't wanna look, but you do wanna look.

You're like, you're engaged, you're on the edge of your seat.

And this makes us curious about what will happen next and help reveal the characters' secrets.

And tension, suspense, make the audience feel uneasy.

And we're constantly thinking about the characters' actions.

So, I want us to think about tension and suspense specifically in "An Inspector Calls" now.

And if you look at this graph here, we can plot the structure of "An Inspector Calls." It almost looks like this, doesn't it? So, it actually has quite an interesting tension line, okay? So, and it looks like this.

So, we start with this introduction of the characters.

So, the starting point is we've got that setting and the Inspector's arrival.

So, we could always describe it as quite calm.

There's that celebratory atmosphere.

And it's kind of, this is just establishing the characters.

But then the Inspector arrives and the tension starts to build.

So we can see it going up that spike there.

And as each character is revealed to have an involvement with Eva Smith, the tension builds and builds.

And now, arguably one of the peaks of the tension is when Eric's involvement is revealed and the Inspector's final speech, okay? So, we kinda get to that point and we're at the final part of tension.

But then what happens isn't that, it starts to become less tense because Mr. Birling finds out that the Inspector isn't real.

And there's this moment where the Birlings are momentarily relieved, or specifically the older Birlings say, "Oh well, it was just a hoax.

It wasn't real so we can go back to being normal." So, there is that moment where we feel like everything's just going to be okay, and things are going back to the way they were.

However, there is a surprise ending, isn't there? So, I'd like you to discuss what happens at the end.

So remind yourself what happens at the end and how are tension and suspense reintroduced at the end.

So, pause the video to discuss your answers, think quietly to yourself, or you may just wish to jot down some ideas.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

I almost gave away the answer there before you started discussing, so I'm glad I didn't quite do that.

So, lots of you commented on the fact that Priestley ends the play on a cliffhanger, doesn't he? So we get that moment of relief for the particularly older Birlings.

But then we get this rise in tension because we get another cliffhanger.

What happens is, is the family receive a phone call to say a real inspector is on the way to question them about a young woman's death.

It's a shock, isn't it? It's like, oh, so and the sudden phone call creates a dramatic twist, doesn't it? And it leaves the audience and the characters shocked.

We're both shocked at this kind of revelation.

The shock twist.

And the unresolved and ambiguous ending makes the audience question whether the characters will truly change or repeat their mistakes.

It isn't all wrapped up nicely, is it? We don't know what's going to happen, so it's ambiguous.

It leaves it open for us to interpret what the ending is all about.

Who the inspector was, for example.

So, true or false? Priestley ends his play with a clear resolution.

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

Well done, everyone, that said false.

But now you need to justify why and explain why that statement is false.

Off you go.

Okay, let's share an answer.

We'll see if we have something similar.

So, actually Priestley ends the play ambiguously with a cliffhanger, which is why that statement is false.

There is a phone call announcing a real inspector's arrival, leaving the audience to question and reflect on the play's ending.

Well done to everyone that got those answers right.

Interestingly, cliffhangers are not only used at the end of the play, but also used throughout the play.

So, I'd like you please to read the end of Act 1, page 26, from where Gerald says, "You don't.

." to the very end of Act 1, okay? So find that part in your text and just read that section there, please, on page 26.

And what I would like you to do, as you read, I would like you to consider how Priestley builds tension and suspense towards the cliffhanger at the end, and think about how the audience might feel at the end of this act.

So pause the video, so you have time to complete that reading and consider those ideas.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

So, you can see how these cliffhangers are used not just at the end, but also at the end of Act 1.

So we have a tension graph here.

Okay, so this is, as you can see here, this is the bit that you've just read.

So from Gerald, "You don't.

." to the end of Act 1.

And what I'm going to do is I'm going to plot the tension and suspense along that line.

So, you can see here we get, Sheila suddenly starts to laugh hysterically.

And this really creates tension, doesn't it? Sheila's reaction is at almost quite unnerving.

So, it creates tension as her emotional state gets more intense.

So Sheila at the start, if we remember, is described as very excited, very pretty.

But at this point in Act 1, she's laughing hysterically.

She's starting to realise more and more, and her emotional state creates tension.

And then, Sheila has this outburst where she says that the Inspector knows something.

And again, this creates suspense, doesn't it? Because the characters and us as an audience are thinking, "Well, what does the Inspector know? What is Sheila talking about?" So, we have suspense there as we wait for the details.

And then, there's that moment where the door, it describes in the stage directions how the door is finally opened slowly.

So, the Inspector opens the door slowly, which again, really increases tension, doesn't it? You almost want to shout at him, "Open the door! Tell us what you found out." But again, that slow detail from JB Priestley really increases that tension.

And then finally, as the tension builds and builds, the act finishes with the Inspector asking a question.

He just says, "Well?" And that question acts as a cliffhanger, doesn't it? And it really creates suspension tension, suspense and tension before the start of Act 2.

So if you can imagine as an audience watching that play, at the end of Act 1, we want to know what's happening.

We're on the edge of our seats.

It's tense.

We're left in suspense.

And we want to know what is going to happen.

So, you can see how we can plot those events on that line, that rise of tension and suspense.

So, true or false? Priestley uses a cliffhanger at the end of Act 1.

True or false? Yes, that's right.

That's true.

But you now need to say why that statement is true.

So, can I hear your answer now, please? Great.

So, hopefully you have something similar.

The end of Act 1 ends with Sheila's realisation that the Inspector knows and the Inspector asking the question, "Well?" leaving the audience in a state of suspense for Act 2.

Okay, so over to you now for your first practise task.

I would like you to read a different section of the text now.

So, this time you're going to read the end of Act 2 on pages 48 to 49.

And you're going to read from where the Inspector says, "Not yet.

." to the very end of Act 2.

So make sure you find that section in your text.

And then as you read that, I would like you to consider again, how Priestley builds tension and suspense towards the cliffhanger at the end.

And think about how the audience might feel at the end of this act.

So, pause a video now to give yourself time to do that reading.

Off you go.

Okay, excellent.

Well done.

So, hopefully you have that reading completed, because now what I would like you to do is I would like you to complete the tension line, showing how tension and suspense are built at the end of Act 2.

So, exactly like I showed you previously, you are now going to do the same, but at the end of Act 2.

From the Inspector "Not yet.

." to the end of Act 2, okay? So, make sure you have everything you need to complete this task.

And when you are ready, pause the video and get going.

Okay, so I have an example here of a completed tension graph.

So, you may have written something similar or you may have something different.

I would also maybe use this opportunity to look at your work, maybe add some things or make some changes.

You can do that now.

So, let's read through.

So we start, don't we, where Sheila is described as "distressed." So again, Sheila's emotional state really building some tension there.

Her emotional state gets more and more intense.

Sheila's actually quite a good marker of tension, isn't she? 'Cause we have this at the end of Act 1, and we've also got it at the end of Act 2.

And it shows us that Sheila is really beginning to understand and that she gets what the Inspector's up to, doesn't she? Then we get Mrs. Birling is described as "understanding" and "frightened" and it builds suspense as she begins to realise.

Every time I read this bit, I am, it's so tense and it's so suspenseful because those, we get those words describing Mrs. Birling's realisation.

Like, it happens so slowly, Sheila's worked it out, but it's taken Mrs. Birling a bit of a longer time.

And then Mr. Birling is described as "thunderstruck." It's almost like he's struck by thunder.

He finally understands what the Inspector is getting at.

And again, the emotional intensity continues to rise as Eric is identified as the father.

So, you can almost see these moments of tension as each of the characters realise what is going on.

Sheila realises, then Mrs. Birling realises, then Mr. Birling realises, and then finally, Eric enters and he's distressed and we've got that cliffhanger again.

And he even describes the curtain falling quickly.

And again, you can imagine watching it with this curtain falling quickly and you're just like, "Oh my gosh, what is Eric going to tell us?" So again, we get that real sense of suspension and tension in these acts.

And I think it's really purposeful on Priestley's part where almost the audience and the characters are going through this together, this emotional turmoil.

Okay.

Well done, everyone.

We are now on the second part of our lesson.

And this part we are going to focus on the ending.

So, I'd like just to hear your thoughts now.

How did the ending of the play "An Inspector Calls" make you feel? So when you first read that ending, how did it make you feel? Pause the video and discuss your answer to the question.

I look forward to hearing what you say.

Off you go.

Okay, fantastic.

Some really interesting responses and thoughtful responses to that question.

So, lots of you saying things like you felt frustrated because it's so ambiguous, isn't it? Like, what's happened? Might feel a bit unsettled.

Some of you were shocked.

I was definitely shocked at that final twist.

Some of you said you felt reflective, which is interesting, isn't it? When we think about Priestley's purpose.

You're kind of thinking about what the play is about and reflecting on the themes.

Uncomfortable, yes.

Sometimes a cliffhanger can make you feel uncomfortable, can't it? 'Cause it's not a nicely wrapped up resolution, isn't it? So you can feel uncomfortable.

Some of you may be intrigued.

Like, what's happened? What is going to happen next? So arguably, all of these things are exactly what Priestley wants you to feel and his intention.

So this can be argued that all of those emotions are exactly what Priestley wants to do.

Because that ambiguous ending provokes thought and reflection on the key themes.

And that unresolved ending creates more questions, doesn't it? On the themes that Priestley explores.

So, Priestley doesn't offer us a solution, he doesn't wrap up the story in a nice, neat way.

He actually creates more questions.

We're sat there wondering how we move on from this, which is a really interesting decision on Priestley's part.

Now we've thought about that ambiguous ending.

But also if we think about the ending and in terms of Priestley's overall structure, "An Inspector Calls" could be considered cyclical.

So, this means that the play ends where it begins with an inspector coming to question the family, suggesting that the cycle of events is about to begin all over again.

So, the last few moments of Act 3, there's all of these parts that link back to the start of the play.

So, the ending of Act 3 also uses specific details from Act 1 to really emphasise that cyclical structure.

So, let's have a look.

We've got Act 1 and the end of Act 3.

So, Act 1, the stage directions describe the noise of the doorbell as "sharp." So when we hear the inspector ring the doorbell, it's sharp.

And then interestingly at the end of Act 3, the telephone is ringing, and it says it is ringing "sharply." So you can see, Act 1 sharp, Act 3 sharply.

Both the telephone and the doorbell signal the arrival of an inspector.

Interesting, isn't it? We also get this idea that Mr. Birling is speaking humorously before the Inspector enters.

So, Mr. Birling is feeling very pleased with himself.

Very happy, there's a sense of celebration.

And at the end of Act 3, Mr. Birling is mocking Eric and Sheila before he takes the phone call.

So again, Mr. Birling is doing the exact same thing or has the exact same presentation before an inspector arrives or telephones.

And the Inspector informs them of the details of a woman's death after swallowing disinfectant.

And likewise, in the phone call, Mr. Birling has told the exact same details.

That a girl has died after drinking disinfectant.

So, you can see how Act 3 and Act 1 always almost mirror each other in these details.

Okay, so in the stage directions, both the noise at the doorbell and the phone ringing are described as, is it A, B, or C? Come up with your answer now, please.

Lots of you feeling confident.

Great.

Well done to everyone who said C, sharp.

The phone ringing and the doorbell are both described as sharp and sharply.

Now, Priestley was really interested in theories of time, okay? So in particularly, in particular, he liked the idea that time would repeat itself unless individuals stopped repeating the same mistakes in life, okay? So, there are some philosophical ideas that time just repeats itself until individuals stop repeating the same mistakes.

And Priestley was really interested in this idea.

So, the cyclical structure may reflect Priestley's interests and suggest that the characters will just continue to repeat the events until all have taken responsibility or admitted accountability.

So, there's this sense that we get to the end of the play and Sheila and Eric have really changed.

They've really come round full circle, haven't they? They've taken accountability.

They understand that things can't stay the same.

Whereas the older Birlings, they are just, they just stay the same, don't they? They refused to take responsibility.

They're just relieved that it was a joke.

So again, Priestley's kind of suggesting that they're going to go back with that phone call and relive all of this again until they make the right decisions.

But it could also mean something else.

That the idea of change is futile and that the older characters will refuse to change.

So maybe in that sense, Priestley is pinning his hopes on the younger generation.

That yes, the older characters are stuck in this cycle of time, but actually, the future generations will break that cycle.

They're the ones that are going to make the change.

There are some other interpretations of the cyclical structure as well.

So, the cyclical structure could be used to emphasise unresolved issues.

So, if we think Priestley is really interested in social problems and issues, and he raises these in his play, so things like inequality, the lack of responsibility, what he's saying with this cyclical structure is these remain unresolved.

And they will persist unless people change their attitudes.

So, it's almost like a warning about these unresolved issues.

Likewise, the cyclical structure could also link to Priestley's critique of the upper classes.

So again, Priestley shows how the older generation of Birlings remain unchanged and blind to their actions, suggesting that for Priestley, the upper class refuse to learn or accept responsibility.

So, you can see how this cyclical structure can be used and interpreted to represent and link to a lot of the themes in the play.

So, I'd like you to discuss, please.

Considering your own responses to the end of the play, which interpretation do you think is the most important and why? So, we have the interpretations there in those four bullet points, and I'd like you to discuss them.

So, which do you consider to be the most important and why? So, pause the video so you have time to discuss your ideas.

If you're working on your own, you can think quietly to yourself, or you may even wish to jot down some ideas.

But as soon as you're ready, pause the video and get discussing.

Okay, great.

Some really interesting mixed responses there as to why Priestley chose that cyclical structure.

So, well done for considering those multiple interpretations.

So, what I would like you to do now, please, is the first thing I would like you to do, in this grid you can see we have some sentence fragments.

And I'd like you please to rearrange the sentence fragments in the box to create a complex sentence, which explain how Priestley uses a cyclical structure in "An Inspector Calls." So, you'll need to rearrange those fragments first to get your sentence.

And then, I would like you to expand on the idea by creating a paragraph, starting your next sentence with "In particular.

.".

So, you've rearranged your fragments.

Then, you're going to develop a paragraph.

So you can start with "In particular.

.".

You could comment on the need for societal change, Priestley's critique of the upper classes, the impact on the audience, and other structural features.

So, there's lots there for you to be getting on with.

And when you are ready, pause the video.

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

So now, you have done that.

There is one final thing I would like you to do.

I would like you to develop the paragraph even further by offering an alternative interpretation of the cyclical structure and ending, okay? So, think back to all of those different interpretations of the cyclical structure and the ending.

And you'll need to use one of the sentence starters to help you.

"Alternatively.

." or "It could also be suggested.

." or even "Furthermore.

." okay? So again, pause the video to get those sentences complete.

Off you go.

Well done, everyone.

There was a lot to do there and you have done incredibly well with that work.

So, well done.

And you've really offered some thoughtful and insightful answers as to why Priestley has structured in his text in the way that he has.

So, well done.

So, I have an example here of a completed paragraph.

Use this as an opportunity to look at your own work, okay? You may have something completely different, which is fine.

You may even have something even better.

But let's just read this three together.

"In 'An Inspector Calls', Priestley uses an ambiguous ending and specifically the use of a cyclical structure to emphasise unresolved social issues.

In particular, the cyclical structure emphasises the persistence of problems without change, suggesting that societal issues like social responsibility may remain unresolved, leaving the audience with a sense of ongoing urgency.

It could also be suggested that Priestley uses the cyclical structure to critique the upper classes, specifically the older generation, showing how the Birlings remain unchanged and blind to their actions." Okay.

Well done, everybody.

We have reached the end of the lesson and there has been lots to think about today.

So, we are now very clear (laughs) and know that the cliffhanger at the end gives the play an ambiguous and unresolved ending.

We know that Priestley uses cliffhangers throughout the play to create that all important suspense and tension.

We know that Priestley uses a cyclical structure to impact the audience and provoke reflection.

And then finally, that the stricter, cyclical structure, quite hard to say, links to the themes of social responsibility, class, and societal change.

Thank you so much for your hard work today and joining me for today's English lesson.

I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Goodbye.