Poems by Margaret Cavendish

Biography

• 17th century
• Of the Enlightenment Period: scientific, religion, cultural shift
• Fond of scientific discoveries
• Royal Society: a scientific society
• Proposed the idea, "What if the world were made of atoms instead of how Genesis describes creation?"
• "The Blazing World" was a romance about Margaret making herself a powerful world leader, "Mad Madge"
• She was considered to be mad because of her interest in male-dominated fields such as science
• Cavendish was considered a royalist because of her social standing

Poems

The Infinities of Matter:

• There has to be an infinite number of worlds because an infinite number of atoms exist
• If poles exist on earth, God must certainly exist
• Deals with spirituality, but is not strictly a religious poem
• First writer using metaphors in science

A World made by Atoms:

• A deceptive poem
• Uses religious language
• She likens small atoms to small people
• She says like small atoms, small people can make great impacts
• Like atoms, people come in many shapes and forms and become different individuals
• She discusses how people are grouped and how atoms are natured
• She believes people are predestined: either damned or blessed