Speak softly and be heart-broken (7)
I believe the answer is:
breathe
'speak softly' is the definition.
'breathe' can be an answer for 'speak' (thesaurus). I am not sure about the 'softly' bit.
'be heart-broken' is the wordplay.
'broken' indicates anagramming the letters.
'be'+'heart'='beheart'
'beheart' anagrammed gives 'BREATHE'.
'and' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for breathe that I've seen before include "Absorb air" , "Respire - inspire - expire" , "Inhale/exhale" , "eg Inhale" , "Whisper" .)