“If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking”

“If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking”

by Emily Dickinson

1 If I can stop one heart from breaking

2 I shall not live in vain*

3 If I can ease one life the aching,

4 Or cool one pain,

5 Or help one fainting robin

6 Unto his nest again,

7 I shall not live in vain

*Definition of “vain”: without effect or avail; to no purpose

QUESTION 1:

What is the theme of this poem?

• Always help animals

• Even if you only do one small good thing, it is still a good thing

• Doing a good deed will always bring reward

• If you are going to do something good, make sure someone else sees it.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

“If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking”

by Emily Dickinson

1 If I can stop one heart from breaking

2 I shall not live in vain*

3 If I can ease one life the aching,

4 Or cool one pain,

5 Or help one fainting robin

6 Unto his nest again,

7 I shall not live in vain

*Definition of “vain”: without effect or avail; to no purpose

QUESTION 2:

What is the literary device used in lines 2 and 7?

• Onomatopoeia

• Alliteration

• Irony

• Repetition

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.6.4

What reading strategies could you use when trying to analyze poetry?

• Reading more than once

• Chunking & Summarizing

• Context Clues

• Visualization

• Making Connections

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RI.7.10

CCSS.RI.8.10

CCSS.RL.6.10

Rhyme word for Breaking

• Pain

• Vain

• Aching

• Breakfast

give meaning of:- vain

• pain

• meaningless

• pointless

• use fully

I can ease one life the aching means

• I can reduce the sorrow in someone's life

• I can see one person's pain

• I can talk about my issues

rhyme word for:- pain

• paint

• lame

• vain

• robin

What sentence best paraphrases everything the speaker in the poem says?

• I would like to stop all the pain in the world.

• I would like to stop cruelty in nature.

• If I can stop a heartbreak, I will be well-known.

• If I can relieve just one person's pain, my life will matter.

The meaning of the line, "Help one fainting Robin Unto his nest again" is closest to...

• helping a homeless person find shelter

• calling a doctor to an accident on the highway

• helping a fainting person sit down

• sharing your lunch with a friend