If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
- "If I Can Stop One Heart
from Breaking,"
Emily Dickinson
Combine the subject of the poem with relevant details
to determine the poem's central idea.
What is the purpose of the speaker's life?
The speaker's life cannot be fulfilled, which
saddens her.
The speaker wants to spend her life helping others
with their pain.
The speaker feels that life can be figured out,
although incompletely.

Read the excerpt from the time traveler's guide to elizabethan england.simon forman, who does attend plague sufferers, is a rare exception: this is because he has himself survived the disease and believes he cannot catch it again. however, his remedy amounts to little more than avoiding eating onions and keeping warm. he has a recipe for getting rid of the plague sores that will afflict you afterward if you survive the disease; but that is a very big "if.” it seems the best advice is provided by nicholas bownd in his book medicines for the plague: "in these dangerous times god must be our only defense.”which lines best summarize the excerpt?