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In Dickinson’s poem, she uses a technique called personification, the act of giving inanimate objects, like cars or houses human feelings. She talks to her heart as though it were another person.  What other stories or poems use personification?  Was there ever a time when you referred to something that was not alive (like a bicycle or a blanket) as though it were alive?   Did you have an imaginary friend when you were younger? Why do you think we do things like that?  Why do you think Dickinson did it? What kind of comfort or support did it give you? What kind of comfort or support do you think it gave the poet?  

Just like Robert Frost in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", Dickinson is ambivalent. She knows that the unnamed man will no longer be in (their) life. While she will miss him, she is trying to convince herself that she can do without him. Talk about a time when you knew you were going to lose something close to you, but didn’t want to. How did you resolve that conflict?