Margaret-Cavendish-April-4-2019

A World of Four Atoms by Margaret Cavendish expresses the importance of understanding atoms because of the many great things that come from the tiny building blocks of life. She speaks of how four major components of nature and science help to combine and make the world around us in a way that many people do not often sit and think about, “Atomes Fire subtle, quicke, and dry, The Long, like Shafts still into Aire fly. The Round to Water moist, (a hollow Forme,) The Figure square to heavy dull Earth turne.”. From this passage, Cavendish speaks of four main elements that atoms contribute to making. She puts emphasis more so on nature than actual chemically made items from atoms which is an interesting scientific perspective that looks at beauty in nature in a new way. Then, Cavendish speaks of the various shapes that atoms can help create for the various structures in nature, “Thus the Fancy of my Atomes is, that the foure Principall Figures, as Sharpe, Long, Round, Square, make the foure Elements.”. Cavendish continues this kind of language and compares the structure of things from atoms as a sort of mixing with specific properties of what will create an object, “the mixt Figures give them mixt Proprieties, & their several composures do give them other Proprieties, according to their Formesthey put themselves into, by their severall Motions.”. After this passage, Cavendish ends the poem by stating this is how she understands how atoms to work. She has a fascinating expression towards science in that she simplifies a major component of scientific understanding into a type of mixing and building that uses simple language. Overall, Cavendish mixes elements of science and poetry to create a simplified explanation of why atoms of an important part of science and the world.