Bliss: Part 1

This advanced-level story, by Katherine Mansfield, is set in London in the early 1900s. It is about a woman called Bertha who is overcome with happiness because she has everything – but all is not as it seems. It is told in four parts; each part contains audio and an accompanying lesson plan written by Daniel Barber, which includes teacher’s notes, student worksheets and a full transcript and glossary. Part 1 is free to all onestopenglish users.

Part 1 of this story introduces us to Bertha who is almost unable to contain her happiness and questions the social conventions that say she can’t express her happiness without appearing strange. In this lesson, the students will: talk about what makes them happy and how we express happiness; think about the historical and class context of the story; order the events in the narrative; practise the emphatic use of auxiliary verbs and explore the main character’s personality.