UKUK USUSIndiaIndia

Every Question Helps You Learn

Join Us
Streak
Leading Streak Today
Your Streak Today
Streak
Leading Streak Today
Your Streak Today
An Inspector Calls - Dialogue
How important is dialogue in a play?

An Inspector Calls - Dialogue

This GCSE English Literature quiz looks at the dialogue in JB Priestley's play, An Inspector Calls.

Dialogue is another word for speech, or, more specifically, a conversation between characters. In a play, such as An Inspector Calls, the majority of the text consists of dialogue. Each character has a unique manner of speech which can be easily distinguished from that of other characters. Most of the dialogue is in the form of the Inspector’s interrogation of the Birling family and Gerald. The private conversations which take place without the Inspector being present are also very informative, as are the conversations between characters following the many revelations brought about by the Inspector’s questions.

1 .
Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"I remember what he said, how he looked, and what he made me feel. Fire and blood and anguish. And it frightens me the way you talk, and I can't listen to any more of it"
Eric
The Inspector
Mrs Birling
Sheila
Sheila's statement demonstrates the profound effect which the encounter with the Inspector has had on her
2 .
Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"Unless you brighten your ideas, you'll never be in a position to let anybody stay or to tell anybody to go. It's about time you learnt to face a few responsibilities"
The Inspector
Mrs Birling
Gerald
Mr Birling
Mr Birling frequently reminds Eric of his responsibilities, especially when he feels that his son does not seem to understand the hard-headed business world
3 .
Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"And if you'd take some steps to find this young man and then make sure that he's compelled to confess in public his responsibility - instead of staying here asking quite unnecessary questions - then you really would be doing your duty"
Mrs Birling
Mr Birling
Gerald
Sheila
Mrs Birling does not realise that she is talking about her own son
4 .
Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"Well, I'm old enough to be married, aren't I, and I'm not married, and I hate these fat old tarts round the town - the ones I see some of your respectable friends with - "
Sheila
Eric
Gerald
Mr Birling
This quotation captures both Eric's frequent tone of petulance as well as his keen awareness of his father's hypocrisy
5 .
Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"You mustn't try to build up a kind of wall between us and that girl. If you do, then the Inspector will just break it down. And it'll be all the worse when he does"
Mr Birling
Gerald
Sheila
Eric
Sheila is the first in the family to understand the implications of the Inspector's visit and the first to feel the full horror of the consequences of the family's behaviour to 'Eva Smith'
6 .
Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"It's what happened to the girl and what we all did to her that matters. And I still feel the same about it, and that's why I don't feel like sitting down and having a nice cosy talk"
Gerald
Sheila
Eric
Mrs Birling
Eric's statement demonstrates his changed attitude. Like his sister, he has taken in the Inspector's moral lesson
7 .
Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"I happened to look in, one night, after a rather long dull day, and as the show wasn't very bright, I went down into the bar for a drink. It's a favourite haunt of women of the town - "
Eric
Mrs Birling
Mr Birling
Gerald
Gerald explains how he first met 'Daisy Renton' during the summer when he was often too busy to see Sheila. He makes a weak attempt to disguise his behaviour by employing the euphemism 'women of the town'
8 .
Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"Yes, he didn't keep you on the run as he did the rest of us. I'll admit now he gave me a bit of a scare at the time. But I'd a special reason for not wanting any public scandal just now"
Mr Birling
Gerald
Sheila
Mrs Birling
With this remark, Mr Birling reverts to his former selfish concerns
9 .
Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"I wish I'd been here when that man first arrived. I'd have asked him a few questions before I allowed him to ask us any"
Mr Birling
Mrs Birling
Gerald
Eric
Mrs Birling reacts with indignation, returning to the haughty manner she exhibits before the Inspector's arrival
10 .
Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.

"Just remember this. One Eva Smith has gone - but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering, and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, with what we think and say and do"
The Inspector
Sheila
Gerald
Eric
The Inspector leaves the Birling household with this speech, making his moral message to the family clear
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - An Inspector Calls

Author:  Sheri Smith

© Copyright 2016-2024 - Education Quizzes
Work Innovate Ltd - Design | Development | Marketing