In the poem "Nuns Fret Not at Their Covent's Narrow Room" by William Wordsworth, Wordsworth uses the structure of sonnet to help strengthen his message; that confinements and restrictions, although generally thought to be a bad thing, are actually better than complete freedom. He uses real life examples of working people and animals in the beginning of the poem, then moves on to explain how restrictions and structure are actually helpful; and how complete freedom, although generally thought to be a good thing, actually creates pressure and stress, which is what really limits people from reaching their full potentials. By looking at the spatial imagery in this poem, one can see that structure is more beneficial than complete freedom. 

Wordsworth completely changes tone in lines eight and nine. The first seven lines describe people actively perusing their jobs in a busy, complaint free environment. However in lines eight and nine, Wordsworth writes, "In truth the prison, unto which we doom/ Ourselves, no prison is." (21) Wordsworth is making the point that though many people dislike being restricted, we don't abandon the aspects of our life that are restricted because they provide a sense of comfort and "peace of mind." (21)

Restrictions and structure are typically thought to be what limit the ability to work and live, but Wordsworth suggests that confinements and restrictions are more often than not a good thing, because they help people to reach their full potential, grow, and get things done the best way possible. In the first seven lines of the poem, Wordsworth discusses multiple different subjects that live or work in small, confined spaces; nuns in their "narrow" (21) rooms, hermits in their "cells" (21), students in their "pensive" (21) citadels, maids at the wheel, and weavers at the loom. Although they are in small, confined spaces, they are content. Because the subjects have chosen to live with these restrictions and confinements, they are "blithe and happy," (21) allowing them to "soar/ High as the highest Peak of Furness-fells." (21) In other words, with constraint, there is not the pressure of complete freedom and choice, making people happy, and therefore giving people the opportunities they really need in order to accomplish things and be successful.

Wordsworth uses the sonnet structure, which strengthens his point that he makes is making in the poem itself: confinements and restrictions, although generally thought to be a bad thing, are actually better than complete freedom. Sonnet form, with its fixed structure, is generally thought to limit and restrict the writer's options, choices, and creativity, just like the small spaces that the aforementioned subjects worked and lived in. Just as many are critical and skeptical of the subject's lifestyles, many criticize the usage of sonnet form poems. "Nuns Fret Not at Their Covent's Narrow Room" is really a metaphor for those who criticize the usage of structured writing styles such as sonnet form. The rigid structure of sonnet form is what pushes many writers away from using it, but it is what attracts Wordsworth to it. Having the freedom to be able to write whatever a writer wants, however an author wants is often too much to handle for many writers. Freedom like this puts pressure on the writer, and often leads to writer's block. The freedom that is supposed to make it easier for the writer to express their ideas in the most creative way possible is actually the reason that they are unable to be successful in doing so in their writing. Wordsworth is not only explaining this through his poem, but is, in a way, proving, if not at least making a strong case for his message that restrictions and structure are much more benevolent than complete freedom.

The structure used by William Wordsworth in the poem "Nuns Fret Not at Their Covent's Narrow Room" helps prove the point that he is trying to get across to the reader. Without his clever usage of structure, the purpose of the poem would not be nearly as clear or meaningful. In the beginning of the poem, it seems that Wordsworth has a strong distaste for the structure of sonnet form, but through his comparison of the restrictions of the sonnet to the restrictions of the subjects and a turn-around in lines eight and nine, his actual opinion is revealed. It seems that Wordsworth admires the rigid structure of the sonnet because it helps him to put his ideas into place and write to his full potential. He explains that while structure is thought to limit one's abilities, it actually gives people freedom, solace, and "peace of mind" (21), so that they may work to their best ability. The fact that Wordsworth is using a sonnet style poem to make his point only further validates his theory about restrictions and structure. By writing in a form that has such strong restrictions and rigid structure, Wordsworth not only makes his point through his writing, but also exemplifies it. 

