England

The country of England is the play's primary broad-strokes setting. Its history of being an industrial, economic, and political empire is an important sub-textual component of the play's thematic consideration of capitalism, and how capitalism exploited the working classes.

Brumley

The fictional community of Brumley is the play's setting in terms of location. The community is portrayed as being part of England's industrial Midlands, the region of the country most associated with manufacturing. Mr. and Mrs. Birling are portrayed as being proud of their economic and social status within the community, and also as reluctant to believe that anything other than that which is productive and respectable can take place there.

The Birling Home

The Birling home is the play's setting in terms of physical place - that is, the action does not move beyond its walls. In early stage directions, it is described as being "substantial and...