An Inspector Calls has been described at different times as a sermon and ‘a lesson in civics’. How far can the play be viewed simply as a vehicle for Priestley’s moral and political views?

John Boynton Priestley, who later wrote the play An Inspector Calls, was Born in Bradford, Yorkshire on 13 September 1894. Priestley, having grown up into his father’s circle of socialist friends, found himself joining in with their political arguments: ‘I was politically minded to some extent but never able to put politics first.’ These discussions helped influence the values which later shaped Priestley’s writing. Other things also influenced his writing such as the years he …

…my opinion that this display of moral issues strengthens the play. For example, as well as being a mystery thriller, it has been suggested that the play is like a medieval morality play where we watch the overthrow of sin. Overall, I believe that the play can quite fairly be viewed as a vehicle for Priestley’s political and moral views and that to call it a “sermon” is a perfectly fair statement. By Bob