Culler says that literature is a paradoxical institution because “proofs” (or how he says it: formulas) of the topic that is going to be developed are needed to create literature and this also needs to follow some conventions. However, literature is sometimes about who expresses their limits, criticizes different points of view and own thoughts. That said, Culler may refer to this whole literature thing as somewhat paradoxical, as it contradicts itself a bit by saying that literature must have certain conventions and rules/formulas to follow, but at the same time you can observe literature outside of these parameters and it is still literature.

Poems like Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Parsley and The Sea is History for me some of them use more a metaphorical relation. However, I feel that The sea is history can have a little bit of paradox because it refers to the passages of the bible like something you believe in if only you have faith, but at the same time it relates all these passages as something that could be historical and provide some critical views, that is why I say that it can be somewhat paradoxical and it also exhibit the kinds of paradoxes that Culler shows.