The Paper Nautilus

“The Paper Nautilus” is a poem written by Modernist poet Marianne Moore. Originally available to readers in 1941, it was published in The Completed Poems of Marianne Moore in 1961. The poem speaks to the Naturalist movement, which finds meaning in nature and realism. Moore was known for her animal poems, and her background in the sciences provided her writing with an eye for observation, as seen in “The Paper Nautilus.”

The poem follows a single paper nautilus as she looks over her shell, which carries her eggs as they incubate. The speaker closely observes the paper nautilus and her interactions with her offspring, despite the challenges for sustaining her own life in the process. While the poem is about the creature in its element, the paper nautilus becomes a running metaphor for maternal instinct and for the process of creation in nature and in writing. Moore weaves together unique metaphors and similes, providing a depth to the paper nautilus’ actions in relation to humanity.

Moore was a poet who influenced the literary landscape, but who was also influenced by the landscape of art and technology of her time.