Analysis of Mr Birling
Arthur Birling embodies the rigid, unyielding capitalism that Priestley spent his career arguing against. To achieve top marks in essays on Mr. Birling, you need to look closely at how language, structure, and dramatic form combine to present him as a symbol of Edwardian complacency and hubris.
This video walks you through the absolute best language, structural devices, and formal techniques to analyse when writing about Mr. Birling across any exam board. We’ll cover key conversational dynamics, his use of business jargon, and his role as a dramatic foil. Furthermore, we’ll explore complex concepts like hubris, staging decisions, and the play's alignment with the Morality Play tradition, showing you how to turn routine character quotes into grade-elevating points of analysis.
Timestamp
0:00 Protagonist to Antagonist
3:00 Conversation Terminology
5:55 Symbolism
14:19 Jargon
15:33 Metaphor
18:48 Foil
20:03 Dramatic Irony
28:58 Hubris
31:19 Staging
33:37 More Symbolism!
35:52 Anagnorisis
38:43 Morality Play
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There are also resources to help you in the Study Materials section:
An Inspector Calls Vocabulary Bank
The words in this vocabulary bank will help you to develop a more sophisticated and high level understanding of the key ideas and concepts in 'An Inspector Calls'.
As well as providing a range of words, their definitions and an example sentence, this book also suggests a number of activities that you can use to revise and put the vocabulary into practice.
Bonus - it's completely free!
An Inspector Calls AQA GCSE Model Answers (Coming soon!)
This resource will have model answers for multiple years of AQA past papers, giving you the ability to see what high grade essays look like for a range of essay questions.
An Inspector Calls Edexcel IGCSE Model Answers (Coming soon!)
This resource will have model answers for multiple years of Edexcel past papers, giving you the ability to see what high grade essays look like for a range of essay questions.
An Inspector Calls Flipped Learning (Coming soon!)
This resource is designed for teachers and students: it is a workbook designed to be completed alongside all of my An Inspector Calls videos. It is essentially a structured way for you to take notes and ensure that you are squeezing every ounce of advice my videos have to offer.
I fully intend to add more videos and study materials on this play. If there's something in particular you're looking for, then register and get in touch to let me know what would help you.
