William Wordsworth's, "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room" is written as a sonnet to serve as an example of how structure and limitations are necessary in order to produce your best work, no matter what job is being done.  By following the strict guidelines that a sonnet requires, Wordsworth proves that limitations are not always a bad thing through his choice of words and descriptive imagery.  Although limiting yourself can feel like being stuck in a prison cell, people are often happy or make the best of the situation they are in.  This prison is not always going to be a bad thing because it can give structure to a person's work.  Wordsworth is content with the limitations he set for himself but also wants people to know that they can change their situation if they are not happy with the boundaries they have set for their work.

By writing a sonnet, Wordsworth limits the amount of words he can use to get his point across.  This leads to a careful selection of words where each word has a meaning and was put into the poem for a reason.  In "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room", the first five lines are used to describe the work done by nuns, hermits, students, maids, weavers, and bees.  Wordsworth uses imagery in the description of these occupations in order to get the reader to visualize the limitations of each job.  As a reader, this imagery and specific selection of words makes you feel sorry for them but Wordsworth reminds the reader that they all "sit blithe and happy" (Wordsworth 21).

While dissecting the meaning of this sonnet, word choice was my central focus.  With only fourteen lines to work with, each word is important to the poem.  For example, the second line reads, "And hermits are contented with their cells" (Wordsworth 21).  The imagery of a hermit crab is provided as an example of an animal making the most out of its situation.  At first read, this is just more imagery used by Wordsworth as another way to get his point across.  However, when the reader dissects the sentence and looks at how carefully it was put together, it becomes obvious how meaningful this line is to the poem's overall meaning. Wordsworth carefully selected the word "cells" when writing this line because its double meaning supports the poem's central theme of self-imprisonment (Wordsworth 21).  The word cells sounds like and looks like the word shells.  This similarity between the two words is no coincidence since hermit crabs are stuck in their shells like prisoners are stuck inside of cells.  However, Wordsworth explains that the hermits are content in their cells.  Their lives are limited by their shells, but freedom might not be a positive thing for them since their shells are their form of protection.  This is yet another example of a good form of imprisonment because their cell limits their lives and work in order to survive. 

Similar to the hermit crab, Wordsworth uses the bee as another example of how work can be limited.  The "bees that soar for bloom" are not limited by space and mobility, like the hermits, but by their work (Wordsworth 21).  This is a good use of imagery because bees are seen everywhere, so they are not imprisoned by space and are easy for the reader to imagine.  However, bees do not have complete freedom because they are always working and pollinating plants.  They are content with the work they do even though it is very repetitive from day to day.  They are happy working because getting plants to bloom is how they survive.  Like a writer, if the bees had more freedom then the work would not get done.  This imagery relates to the overall theme by showing that limitations and self-imprisonment are needed in order to survive.

When Wordsworth is done providing examples of people being content with their work, the poem takes a turn.  In lines eight and nine, Wordsworth is speaking directly to the readers for the first time.  He tells the reader that "the prison, unto which we doom ourselves" is not actually a prison (Wordsworth 21).  The word "prison" is used as a metaphor for the limits one sets for themselves (Wordsworth 21).  This word is repeated in lines eight and nine because of its connection with the poems meaning.  This is not a literal prison, but a prison that we give ourselves and stay within the prison walls in order to be productive with whatever job is being done.  Everybody has their own version of prison and can relate to how the word is used in the poem in some way or another.  Within this very important line of the poem is the central theme and the meaning of the poem.  Wordsworth says that "we doom ourselves" to let the reader know that if they do not like their situation, they should change it because the limitations of every person's work is self-inflicted (Wordsworth 21).

In the end, Wordsworth writes a sonnet explaining why he enjoys sonnets.  A sonnet is easy to write because it limits the writer to a certain structure.  Too much freedom when writing can actually hinder the success of a piece because it can lead to unorganized and meaningless words.  The strict structure of a sonnet helps Wordsworth avoid "the weight of too much liberty" and allows him to find peace in his writing (Wordsworth 21).  Like the nuns, hermits, students, maids, weaver, and bees, William Wordsworth gave his work limitations in order to be productive.  This is especially true in writing because having limitations and structure to how he is supposed to write helps avoid writer's block (Wordsworth 21).   For him, a sonnet is a type of imprisonment since he has to stick with a predetermined structure and must follow its rules.  Once again, not all prisons are bad ones.  The use of a sonnet is his version of the hermit crab's shell.  He states that he needs this cell in order to be productive like the bees.  Relating the overall theme of self-imprisonment being a good thing to his life, as a writer, further convinced the reader of this truth. 

The sonnet's strict structure that must be followed is the perfect example of how limitations can be an asset in writing.  William Wordsworth uses the hermit crab shells, the bees, his specific word choice, and the repetition of the word "prison" in "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room" in order to deliver this meaning to the reader.  As a whole, this poem is very ironic because he uses a sonnet to explain how he is able to find peace in writing sonnets.  Structure and limitations are needed in order to produce our best work, no matter the job, because self-imprisonment is the key to our success.

