





Throughout his career William Wordsworth wrote over five-hundred sonnets, many of which were Italian sonnets. This specific form of sonnet has very strict rules that need to be followed for the poem to be classified as an Italian sonnet. William Wordsworth uses this platform to discuss freedom and how constraints on this basic human right are a good thing. He discusses this issue through diction, literary devices, and characters. In one of his well-known poems “Nuns Fret Not at their Convent’s Narrow Room,” Wordsworth expresses his belief that too much freedom can have negative consequences.

Wordsworth uses different lifestyles in his poems to provide examples of how barriers to freedom provide a purpose in peoples’ lives. “Nuns fret not at their convent’s narrow room; And hermits are contented with their cells; And students with their pensive citadels; Maids at the wheel, the weaver at his loom” (1-4). With these lines Wordsworth portrays that these people are content with the simplicity of their lives. They have a schedule and a purpose in life which keeps them from straying off the right path: the nuns have God, the hermits have their thoughts, the students have their studies, and the maids and weaver have their wheel and loom. Yet, those with too much liberty have nothing to occupy their minds, and these people are more apt to fall into bad habits. Conversely, these people who have a purpose and know their lives are worth something are less likely to form bad habits because all their time and energy is put into their duties. The Nun is content with her “narrow room” because she knows she is serving a higher power; and the student is happy with his “pensive citadel” because he knows he is working towards an education that will help him get a job in the future. However, those with bounds of freedom work for no one and towards nothing. Therefore, they have no purpose in life which can force some to go crazy trying to avoid realizing that their life has no end game. 

The requirements of the Italian Sonnet have given it the reputation of being one of the most complex forms of poetry to write. Enjambment is when a line of poetry continues from one line to another without completing the entire clause. Wordsworth uses enjambment in “Nuns Fret Not at Their Convents Narrow Room” between lines eight and nine because he needs to abide by the Italian Sonnets guidelines, and complete his thought. Wordsworth’s use of this sonnet and how he plays with it through enjambment, fit perfectly into the point he is trying to make throughout the poem. For example, Wordsworth is limited by the poem’s strict guidelines just like the people are limited by their duties. However, the limitations do not stop him from having some fun with what he has by using enjambment in line eight and nine, “In truth the prison, unto which we doom Ourselves, no prison is: and hence for me” (8-9).  With these lines Wordsworth is trying to say that although there are these guidelines we must follow in our lives, they do not have to keep us from having fun and playing with the rules a little.  Through his use of an Italian sonnet and his clever use of enjambment, Wordsworth is proving that the limitations set by our occupations can be twisted and molded in ways that can be fun and even interesting. 

Wordsworth uses diction in the last lines of his poem to portray that limitations on freedom are not only a good thing, but something that is preferred by most people. The author uses words such as bloom, contented, and happy to show the characters described as being content with their lives. They are not over joyed about their lives, but they live steady and happy lives with little risk involved. Later in the poem he uses words like sundry, doom, and prison to convey the dangers that come too much liberty. In the second to last line Wordsworth says, “Pleased if some Souls (for such there needs must be) Who have felt the weight of too much liberty” (12-13). Wordsworth speaks of “liberty” as having a bearing weight that brings those that have too much of it down. He is trying one last time to express that freedom, when handed out in excess, is too much to bear. Furthermore, Wordsworth states that those who have acquired too much liberty “Should find brief solace there, as I have found” (14). With this line, Wordsworth states that those who need the structure that his poem provides can find comfort by reading it. 

Wordsworth uses several literary devices to express his views on having too much freedom in his poem “Nuns Fret Not at their Convent’s Narrow Room.” He uses symbolism to show how those with obligations that limit their freedom are happy with their lives because of the structure those obligations provide in their lives. Additionally, Wordsworth chooses to use the Italian sonnet as the format for this piece because of the constraints it has on the writer. He also uses enjambment to show that, even with limitations, you can still finds ways to have fun. Finally, he ends he poem saying one last time that freedom can be too much to handle at times through his use of diction. All of these aspects of “Nuns Fret Not at their Convents Narrow Room,” proves that too much liberty can be a bad thing, and that structure in life is important. 


