The Paper Nautilus

“An Octopus” by Marianne Moore (1924)

While “The Paper Nautilus” zoomed readers into certain particulars of a paper nautilus, it is much shorter in comparison to “An Octopus,” deemed Moore’s response to William Carlos Williams’s epic poem “The Wastelands.” Here, we see Moore dive into a free verse meditation while addressing an octopus, using description of the animal and natural landscapes to explore themes of language, meaning, and possession.

“Poetry” by Marianna Moore (1919)

This is a famous poem of Moore’s, an imaginative ars poetica, a poem about writing and the act of writing, exploration of images, lyrical moments, and love for poetry. “I too dislike it,” it starts, as she ruminates on the merits of poetry, art, and its importance.

“The Chambered Nautilus” by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1858)

The paper nautilus is a motif appearing in poems throughout different points in literary history. Moore’s “The Paper Nautilus” uses a similar form to “The Chambered Nautilus,” with five stanzas and seven lines each.

Poetry, Photography, Ekphrasis: Lyrical Representations of Photographs from the 19th Century to the Present by Andrew Miller (2016)

In this book, Miller explores poetry in the age of photography.