23. Why is the poem divided here? Is the thought divided? Connected? Can you account in the same way for the divisions at lines 68 and 89?
34. vaults: arched ceilings.
44. instinct: alive, animated by.
66. emanation: that which proceeds from a source, as fragrance is an emanation from flowers.
89. This idea that death is the source of other life everywhere in nature is a favorite one with Bryant. It is the fundamental thought in his first poem, "Thanatopsis" (A View of Death), which may be read in connection with "The Forest Hymn."
96. Emerson discusses this question in "The Problem," See selections from Emerson.
THE DEATH OF THE FLOWERS
26. Bryant's favorite sister, Mrs. Sarah Bryant Shaw, died shortly after her marriage, of tuberculosis. This poem alludes to her and is in its early lines the saddest poem Bryant ever wrote. Notice the change of tone near the end.
29. unmeet: unsuitable.
THE GLADNESS OF NATURE