J.B. Priestley creates dramatic tension in his 1945 play, ‘An Inspector Calls’, with didactic purposes to question how the society deals with individuals and their own problems. The growth of tension between the characters on stage are reflected in reader’s awareness of gaps between the rich and the poor. It is clearly to see that Priestley is able to criticize society throughout the characters on stage with his form of speech, structure and the character’s language.
This means he can additionally take advantage of society’s regimes and the tension portrayed as he writes the play in 1945. An Inspector Calls’ is set in 1912 at a time when society was strongly capitalist, and class, exceedingly, divided the world. It was written in 1945 at the end of the unspeakable Second World War. As the play is written at this time it allows Priestley to take advantage of creating tension by questioning conservative policies and class distinction. Between these dates Britain was involved in two world wars, which caused major upheaval in the world.
