Death—tho’soever Broad,
Is Just Death, and cannot increase—
Suspense—does not conclude—But perishes—to live anew—
But just anew to die—
Annihilation—plated fresh
With Immortality—
About ED’s freshly minted, wonderful word “tho’soever”, a contraction of “thoughsoever”. She considered “thosoever”, then wisely used the obviously contracted version. Neither EDLex nor OED defines “tho’soever”. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the gold standard of all English words.
……………….
Adam DeGraff’s explication of F775 on TPB succinctly and clearly interprets Lines 1-6. Lines 7-8 are tough, and hungry for different interpretations, as Adam says.
My take on F775:
Lines 1-3 are a complete sentence that ends with an understood “Silence”. They do not describe what happens after “Death”:
“Suspense—is Hostiler than Death—
Death—tho’soever Broad,
Is Just Death, and cannot increase Suspense.”
I think ED intended Stanzas 1 and 2 to be enjambed, with Lines 4-6 also a complete sentence. These three lines refer to time before death occurs:
“Suspense—does not conclude—
But perishes—to live anew—
But just anew to die.”
Lines 7-8 refer to death itself (“Annihilation”) and its aftermath, if any exists. (By 1863, ED’s poems and letters suggest she leaned toward a belief that Heaven doesn’t exist.). Lines 7-8, are not a complete sentence, but they express a coherent thought that wraps up the poem. For me, these lines say “Death” has recently been gold-plated with a fake facade of “Immortality”. By “plated fresh”, ED probably means the Christian Era, the AD years, where “AD” stands for “Anno Domini”.
“Anno Domini” is Latin for “in the year of the Lord”. For example, 2025 AD means the year 2025 counted from the year of Christ’s birth. (Google AI overview of “AD”, downloaded 4/18/2025).