i) Priestly uses adjectives, diction and short descriptions to make the passage tense.

He uses
words such as “urgently”, “carefully”, “annoyed” and “coolly” to describe the characters attitude
and tone when they are talking. For example, the use of the word hesitantly before Sheila
speaks to her mother shows how she did not want to share her thoughts with Mrs Birling and
was reluctant to speak. Another example is the word annoyed that is used to describe Mrs
Birling’s tone when she was talking to Sheila. It indicates that she was frustrated with Sheila and
that her tone was that of a very exasperated person. One of the sentences Priestly used was
“Sheila gives a short hysterical laugh.” This suggests that Sheila was feeling quite stressed and
impatient, and that the laughter is “hysterical” as she is laughing out of stress of the situation.
This helps to show how the passage was tense by showing the emotions and tone of the
characters that are talking, instead of if there were no words to indicate the manner that they
were speaking to each other in.

Priestly also uses contrast between characters to make the passage tense. He uses Mrs
Birling’s proud and haughty demeanor, along with Sheila trying to stop her mother, and the calm
and collected Inspector to show how the situation was quite tense and stressful. Another
contrast between the character's attitude is the small disagreement Mrs Birling and Sheila had
in the passage. Throughout the whole passage, Sheila is trying to convince her mother to stop
from saying something to the Inspector that she might regret, but Mrs Birling ignores her
daughter’s warnings and merely tells her that she is tired and should go to bed. This creates a
very tense situation between the mother and daughter whose views are going against each
other.

ii) Another moment in the play that Priestly makes particularly tense was when Sheila found out
about Gerald’s affair. One example of it being tense was when Gerald approached Sheila,
saying “Now listen, darling—”, but Sheila cuts him off, showing how she was already frustrated
with him and did not want him to sweet-talk her into thinking she was still his “darling”. “No,
that’s no use. You not only knew her but you knew her very well. Otherwise, you wouldn’t look
so guilty about it. When did you first get to know her?” This line said by Sheila shows how she
was annoyed with Gerald, and Gerald’s silence afterwards let her know that she was right about
him. This also. creates much tension between them, and Gerald’s loss for words also indicates
that he was feeling nervous or worried that the Inspector would find out about his involvement.

Priestly also uses diction to show the tension in this moment. The use of the words “laughs
rather hysterically” before Sheila speaks once again shows that she was laughing out of stress
or hurt from Gerald’s affair, but also felt successful in exposing his secret. It also shows how she
was almost going mad from how the Inspector already knew many things about them, just as
how he already knows of Gerald’s affair. The use of diction “triumph” suggests how it was as if
Sheila had won a battle against Gerald, who was completely crushed, and he felt completely
defeated as everyone was soon to know of the affair he had. This adds to the tension of the
situation as the two sides have a “battle” against each other.