Hi there.

Mr. Barnsley here.

Thank you for joining me as we continue to explore the play "An Inspector Calls" by J.

B.

Priestley.

In today's lesson, we're gonna be looking at the character of the Inspector and the supernatural qualities that he possesses.

You're gonna need to make sure you have got a copy of the play to hand, and I'm gonna be expecting some prior knowledge here.

So this shouldn't be the first time that you've studied the text.

You should be bringing some knowledge of the plot and the characters to this lesson.

All right, time for us to get started.

Let's go.

So by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to analyse the Inspector's supernatural qualities.

Five keywords we're gonna be keeping an eye out for.

The first one we just saw in our outcome, that's supernatural.

That is something that is beyond the natural world, often linked to magic, ghosts, or divine forces that defy logical explanation.

Divine, you can see is in bold, this is our final keyword, but let's revisit that one before we look at the others.

So divine means relating to a God or supreme being associated with ultimate moral authority or supernatural power.

So you can see this link between the supernatural and the divine.

The divine, a very specific element linking to gods or supreme being.

Other words we're gonna look out for in today's lesson is the verb transcends.

This means to rise above or to go beyond ordinary limits, surpassing human understanding.

Omniscience is the knowing and seeing of everything, the past, the present, and the future.

And if something is prophetic, it means it's foretelling the future, it can see the future.

It's got mystical insight.

It suggests knowledge of events yet to come.

So in today's lesson, we're gonna be exploring the Inspector as an supernatural figure.

And first, we're gonna look at the Inspector's supernatural qualities, and then we're gonna take what we find in the play and we're gonna use this to have a wider discussion about punishment, justice, and how they link to the supernatural.

But let's start by thinking about the Inspector and his supernatural qualities.

So over to you to kick us off.

I would like you to mind map all of the features that could suggest the Inspector is supernatural.

So thinking about your knowledge of the play and these hints that you might have had that the Inspector isn't maybe quite human and is this supernatural force.

Where did that evidence come from? All right, over to you.

Pause the video.

You can do this, you can jot down a mind map on a bit of paper or you can just think through this by yourself, but let's think about what are the Inspector's supernatural features? Pause the video, give this a go, and press Play when you've got some ideas.

All right, let's look at some of the ideas that you might have found then.

Here's just an example.

These are not the only ideas, here are just some of them.

So we might have started by his name.

His name Goole sounds like ghoul, which is a type of ghost.

It feels supernatural.

The use of his prophetic language and warnings, anguish, fire feels like he's looking into the future, kind of hell and damnation for the moral crimes that the Birlings have committed.

He seems to be quite an omniscient character.

He seems to know everything before the characters have even confessed.

He seems to be all-knowing.

And then, of course, there's his unexplained disappearance.

There's no record of him existing and he vanishes after his message has been delivered.

All right, why don't you take a moment to compare this to your own ideas.

You can add some more ideas to your own mind map if you were making a note.

Just think about some of the things that you managed to pick up or the things that you didn't notice and add them now.

All right, pause the video, take a moment, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

All right, I think it can be argued then that Priestley uses these supernatural qualities to really elevate the Inspector's role in the play.

He becomes this moral force.

He's not just a typical detective who's wanting to make sure that everyone faces the consequences of the law.

He's focusing on moral accountability rather than that legal justice.

His omniscience, his all-knowing nature, this perfect timing suggests that he really transcends human limitations.

And his presence makes the character's guilt feel really inescapable.

It compels them to confess to their wrongdoings.

And so for the audience then, he reinforces this justice, this moral responsibility much more beyond the legal systems. We don't know if any of these characters will face any legal consequences to their actions, but we do know that they still face justice through the guilt that they find inescapable.

We know that they will feel this moral responsibility.

So let's check to see how we're getting on.

The Inspector appears to know everything before the characters confess.

This is an example of what? Is it, A, prophetic language, B, omniscience, or C, symbolism? A, B, or C? Pause video, have a think, and press Play when you've got an idea.

Well done if you said B, omniscience.

Great job.

So Priestley uses the Inspector's supernatural qualities to really challenge our perceptions of reality for the characters, but also for us as an audience.

His knowledge and his authority almost forces the Birlings to confront these really uncomfortable truths about class, about hierarchy, and about responsibility.

And by making them question their own actions and morality, Priestley is encouraging the audience to do the same.

So let's go back to the play and copies of the play at the ready.

And if you've got the Heinemann version, then you are gonna be wanting to look at page 11.

We're focusing on Act 1 here from where Mr. Birling says, "You're," to where Mr. Birling finishes with that question, "Then?" And what I want you to be thinking about then is what words in this extract suggest that the Inspector is supernatural? How do we see Mr. Birling trying to assert his power? But how does the Inspector's reaction begin to challenge Mr. Birling's reality? So I want you to take plenty of time to look at this section from Act 1 and really start to think about the supernatural, but the impact it's having on the play, particularly the character of Mr. Birling.

All right, pause the video, give this a go.

If you've got a partner, you can work in pairs to do this and discuss your ideas.

But don't worry if you're working by yourself, this is something you can do independently as well.

All right, pause the video, give this a go, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

All right, welcome back.

Great to see you looking so carefully at the text there.

Great job.

All right, Izzy, one of our Oak pupils, gave this a go and here are some of her answers.

She said that, "The Inspector's supernatural presence is hinted at through words like new and Berlin's inability to place him, creating this sense of mystery." We see Birling trying to assert his authority by mention his status as an alderman.

This implies that he has authority over the police and therefore is more powerful than the Inspector.

But we see the Inspector acting in quite an indifferent way to Birling's rank.

This undermines his confidence, it forces him to start thinking about, "Do I really have influence in this situation?" And then his perception of reality, he's going, "Well, I'm an alderman.

I should be more important, but actually have I maybe misinterpreted my influence, my importance, and the reality of this scene?" So we can see just from this early presentation of the Inspector and his interactions, particularly with Mr. Birling, that this supernatural presence is having this unnerving effect on someone who is a very confident man usually.

To what extent do you agree, why don't you think about the discussions you were having, the thoughts you were having? And are there any of Izzy's ideas that you like, that you agree with, that you disagree with, or that you hadn't even thought about yet? And this might be an opportunity for you to make a note of them.

All right, pause the video and just take a moment to reflect on the discussions you've just been having.

Okay, welcome back.

We're now gonna move on to our first task and we're gonna read a couple more extracts from the play.

I want you to focus on Act 1, page 22 from where Gerald says, "After," to where Sheila finishes, "You?" And in Act 3, page 56, the Inspector's final speech from the words, "But, to, "Night." And I want you to answer the following questions for me.

How does Priestley use language here to suggest that the Inspector is supernatural? How is he presented as a moral force rather than a typical Inspector who's just focused on the law? And how does the Inspector challenge the Birling's perception of reality? All right, you're gonna want to make sure you've got your copies of texts at hand and I want you to start now looking into the supernatural and the impact this is having on the characters in the play.

Pause the video, over to you.

Press Play when you think you're done.

All right, welcome back, and great to see you really digging into the text there in more detail.

I'm gonna share with you some example answers.

Of course, these are not the only things you would've picked out.

You might have had different ideas, but if you like some of these and you haven't thought of them, then this'll be a great opportunity for you to make a note of them.

So you might have said something around how Priestley hints at the Inspector's supernatural qualities through his omniscient presence, his all-knowing presence.

In Act 2, for example, Sheila understands that he already knew she was responsible for Eva's firing, revealing he had this prior knowledge.

The Inspector also acknowledges mysteriously that some specific inquiries are left to him, which suggests that this isn't a typical legal investigation, this is a moral one.

In Act 3, we see Priestley's use of prophetic language, which really challenges the Birling's perception of the future.

Did you pick out any of these things? Did you identify any of these things? Maybe you found other things in the text as well, and that's fantastic.

But if you want to now take a moment to make any more notes or develop your answers further, now's the time to do so.

Press Play when you are done.

Okay, we are now gonna move into our second learning cycle in today's lesson, we're gonna take our knowledge and understanding of the Inspector's supernatural qualities and we're gonna bring this to help us have a much more nuanced discussion now about punishment and justice.

So arguably or it can be argued Priestley uses the supernatural as a plot and a dramatic device.

Where in the text then does Priestley use the supernatural to create tension and suspense? Why don't you pause the video, have a think, and press Play when you've got some ideas? Welcome back.

I wonder if you mentioned in Act 1, page 10, the sudden and sharp sound of the doorbell, this immediately creates this sense of unease.

It introduced the Inspector as a very unsettling presence.

You might have talked about Act 3, page 54, where the Inspector references his lack of time.

His statement implies an urgency, it limits to his presence, suggesting he's not bound by normal human constraints of time, which kind of creates this eerie atmosphere.

So Priestley uses the Inspector's supernatural qualities to explore and challenge traditional notions of crime and punishment, suggesting that, A, justice transcends law.

Justice is more important than the law itself.

Divine judgement can be used to hold people accountable.

So judgement from a God or a greater being can also be used to hold people accountable more so in some ways than the law itself.

And punishment therefore can be internal.

It's the guilt and the responsibility you might feel.

And often that punishment is much greater than external legal punishment that the law can offer.

Therefore, perhaps we are arguing that crime is much more of a moral issue than a legal issue.

And some things can be, you know, that we might say, "Is this a crime?" Well, actually, if we look at it from a moral perspective and think about how it feels, then yes, we might not have necessarily broken any laws, but that doesn't mean we've not committed a crime even though it might be a moral one.

So do you consider any of these interpretations important to the play? Which one do you think is the most important? Where and how are these ideas explored in the play? Why don't you take a moment to pause the video.

You might want to give yourself a few minutes to discuss this 'cause this is a really interesting idea, linking the ideas of justice and morality to the supernatural.

All right, pause the video, have a think.

If you've got a partner, I think this is a fantastic opportunity to discuss in pairs, but don't worry if you're working by yourself, you can just make a few notes or think through this independently.

All right, pause the video, give this a go, and press Play when you think you've got some ideas.

I hope you are having a really meaty discussion there.

That was, I found that really interesting for us to consider the differences between the legal law, but also kind of divine judgement and our kind of our own internal guilt.

And actually weighing those two things up and which is more powerful as a form of punishment.

Our Oak pupils were some discussion as well and here are some of their ideas and you can compare them, some of the ideas that you were coming up with.

So Aisha said, "Justice transcending the law is really key to this play.

The Inspectors omniscience shows that true justice is moral, it's not legal.

Priestley wants to highlight that social responsibility is above legal rules." Because often, and particularly at the time the play was set, there were certain laws and rules that were meant to say that actually you have more rights than this person or this person is more important than this person.

And actually what Priestley is trying to say is, "No, no, no, no, no.

Actually your moral and your social responsibility is more important than that." Jacob talks about divine judgement and how that's really important to holding people to account.

The Inspector represents this kind of higher moral force, suggesting that we all have to answer for our actions.

And perhaps Priestley is using this to critique the real individualism and the selfishness of people, particularly the older Birlings.

Alex talks about how actually punishment, internal guilt being punishment is actually really important.

The Inspector makes the characters confront their wrongdoings.

Priestley really emphasising that moral consequences, not legal ones, are the ones that truly punish us, and therefore are probably the ones that are gonna kind of create social change ultimately.

What did you think about these ideas that you can see on screen? I think there's some fantastic ideas here.

Who do you agree with most and why? Why don't you pause the video now and have a think and compare these to your own ideas.

And if there's anything that you really like on the screen you think, "I'd not thought of that," now's the time to note it down.

All right, pause the video, take a moment to reflect, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's do a quick check before we move on.

True or false, arguably Priestley uses the supernatural elements of the Inspector as a really effective dramatic device? What do you think true or false? Pause video, have a think and think about why.

Welcome back, and well done if you said that was true.

Why? Well, the Inspector's knowledge of the character's past, his ominous presence, his cryptic behaviour all serve as dramatic tools to really build suspense and also provoke the character's confessions.

Now, we're gonna do a quick task here, which is gonna build and lead into our final task.

So we're gonna do some thinking which will lead into our final task.

So for the thinking part, I want you to read Act 3 from page 72 from where Sheila says, "No," to the very end of the play.

Some things I want you to be thinking about, how does Mr. Birling's line, "Another (pauses) coming," page 72, contribute to the idea of supernatural justice? and what does the use of another imply about the cyclical or infinite nature of divine judgement ? All right, pause the video.

I want you to do some analysis, thinking, reflecting, discussion if you've got a partner or just doing this independently to prepare for our next task.

All right, pause the video, do some reading, do some analysis, and then Press play when you're ready to find the second part of today's task.

Okay, welcome back.

Right, I hope you've now got loads of great ideas whirring around your mind, linking the ideas about the supernatural and linking this to ideas of punishment and justice because you are now gonna write a response to the question you can see on the screen.

How does Priestley use the supernatural qualities of the Inspector to explore and challenge traditional ideas of punishment and justice? Things I want you to make sure you are doing, including quotations to support all of your interpretations, explaining how Priestley presents the Inspector as being supernatural, and explaining how Priestley uses the Inspector's supernatural qualities to explore and challenge ideas around crime and punishment.

I want you to also then, as ever, bring these back to Priestley's messages in the play.

Okay, we always want to think about what is Priestley trying to tell us about punishment, about justice, and how is the Inspector as a supernatural kind of force being used to do this? All right, this activity is gonna bring all of our learning together.

Show me just how much you've learned and understood in today's lesson.

I know you can do this.

I know you've got some great ideas that you can put into this piece of writing, so it's over to you.

Time to pause the video, give us a go.

Best of luck.

Okay, welcome back.

How did you get on? How did that feel? Are you feeling really confident about what you wrote? I really hope so because I think we've discussed some really interesting things today and I really want to make sure you've got this all down in writing.

So let's take a moment then to self-assess your answer.

I've got some questions I'm gonna put on the screen to help you with this.

Make sure or ask yourself, have you included quotations to support your interpretations? Have you explained how Priestley presents the Inspector as supernatural? Have you explained how Priestley uses the Inspector's supernatural qualities to explore and challenge ideas around crime and punishment? And have you explained how these ideas link to Priestley's message in the play? All right, before we finish today's lesson, I want you to take one last moment to reflect on your writing and if you want to make any improvements, now is the time to do so.

Pause the video and press Play when you're ready to continue.

Okay, that is it.

We have reached the end of today's lesson.

You have done some fantastic work today and had some really, really interesting discussions.

On the screen, you can see a summary of everything that we have covered so far.

We have learned that the Inspector's supernatural traits suggest he operates beyond conventional reality.

We've learned that his eerie knowledge and prophetic understanding hint at the otherworldly presence, this creates tension and unease.

We've learned that the Inspector's mysterious arrival and departure imply he's a figure beyond human law enforcement.

His true identity remains unclear, this leads the audience to question his either divine or ghostly nature.

And Priestley uses all of these supernatural elements to really elevate the moral and social themes about crime, punishment, and justice.

You've done great work today.

I've really enjoyed learning alongside you, and I hope to see you in one of our lessons again in the future.

All right, see you all soon.

Bye-bye.