
Symbolism is one of the most effective literary devices in writing.  Authors use it to help the reader relate personally to their work and provide a deeper level of understanding.   Symbols come in many different forms and it is up to the author to provide context clues to help the reader understand how to interpret the symbols present in their writing.   Typically, symbols are not fully understood until several additional readings.  In the sonnet “Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent’s Narrow Room”, William Wordsworth uses symbolism to communicate his philosophy on the importance of perspective, and the possibility of job consumption, in every day life. 

A nun in her convent’s narrow room, a hermit residing in his cell, and students studying in their citadels until the early hours of the morning.  Nuns are known to spent hours praying alone in their churches, some hermits may spend their whole lives without human contact, and a determined student may let a whole day and night pass while buried in their schoolwork.  All of these situations paint pictures of extensive time passing while consumed in tedious work.  Wadsworth creates this image intentionally to symbolize the jobs of everyday people.  By using these three occupations to symbolize everyday workers, he intensifies the confinement and solidarity a full time job implies.  The use of symbolism in the first three lines assures that the reader is visualizing the environment that Wadsworth intends and makes it possible for him to convey his message later on in the sonnet.

Bees are known to work mindlessly, continuously, and tirelessly throughout the day.  Yesterday is like today and tomorrow will be the same in the life of a bee.  The majorities of bees perform the same job day in and day out, only needing to know how to perform one task in order to make the hive thrive.  Wadsworth uses bees in his sonnet to symbolize people consumed by their job.  He writes, “Maids at the wheel, the weaver at this loom, sit blithe and happy; bees that soar for bloom” (Wordsworth 65).  The only thing that bees are concerned with, in this context, is the flower in bloom.  The flower in bloom symbolizes the one job that the maid and the weaver are performing.  This one task demands the entirety of their attention and restricts the freewill and open-mindedness that comes with human nature. By describing the maid and weaver as the bee, he makes obvious that a day in the life of a bee is not too different than that of a common worker. The continued usage of symbolism, to describe the daily life and tasks of the everyday worker, ensures that Wordsworth main idea will be interpreted correctly.

 Symbolism is imperative to communicating the essence of the sonnet to the reader.  The use of symbolism up until this point in the writing has all been used as the groundwork for Wordsworth’s main idea, “In truth the prison, unto which we doom ourselves, no prison is” (Wadsworth 65).  In this quote Wordsworth introduces the arguably most important symbol, the prison.  Prison implies confinement, solidarity, seclusion, and involves a routine that does not waver day to day.  All of the characteristics of a prison coincide perfectly with the mental image Wordsworth painted in the beginning of the sonnet.  The actions of the nun, the hermit, the student, the maid, and the weaver are all considered to be the prison in which everyday working folk confine themselves to.  The reader sees all of these people entrapped in extremely repetitive and tedious lives but is blind to the fact that these jobs symbolize a prison until this quote.  But this prison that Wadsworth creates is not as confining as the reader initially believes.  He uses the Italian sonnet’s strict rhyme scheme to symbolize a prison he himself is confined to.  He finesses his words around the rhyme scheme to demonstrate that confinement in this prison avoidable.  His cleverness also proves that by exercising creativity and alternate perspectives, the prison ceases to exist.  Wadsworth’s depiction of daily life relates very closely with actual characteristics of a prison.  By using a prison as a symbol, the reader can reach the deeper meaning of Wadsworth’s message; the consumption of day-to-day tasks is imminent unless alternative viewpoints are utilized.

Throughout “Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent’s Narrow Room”, symbolism plays a large part in the communication of the main idea to the reader.  Wadsworth’s use of symbolism helps him create a visual image for the reader that facilitates the interpretation of the sonnet later on.  This initial use of symbolism makes the delivery of the main idea much more understandable to the reader.  Overall, Wadsworth’s crafty and effective use of symbolism educates the reader on the importance of open-mindedness, and cautions the reader of the dangers of job consumption.
