Confinement and freedom have very different definitions, but are more related than one may imagine. William Wordsworth explores this with his poem “Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent’s Narrow Room”. This Italian sonnet uses sentence arrangement, word choice and repetition of confining occupations to explain to the reader that there is freedom within confinement. 

Wordsworth’s choice to use the Italian sonnet to explain his point is critical. In an Italian sonnet all fourteen lines have to be written in iambic pentameter. Along with that it also has a demanding rhyme scheme. His use of this type of poem is indicative to the fact that the only place to find true freedom is within the confines of something. Although this poem style does not allow complete freedom, he still has the flexibility to choose exactly what he wants to say and how he wants to say it. No better way to explain something to a reader than to literally show them and he begins right away.    

 Wordsworth uses many short sentences in the beginning which makes reading it seem restricted. The audience falls right into the trap that Wordsworth has set out. The first thought of confinement is anti-freedom, which is exactly what is portrayed in the first half of the poem’s syntax. The reader becomes even more skeptical of the idea of the poem, which seems contradictory to Wordsworth’s goal. As the reader continues though, the poem has an intense shift in sentence structure. This Volta gives the reader the opportunity to see exactly what Wordsworth is explaining. His use of one huge last sentence is completely opposite of how he opened. This shows that he has freedom within the sentence structure of the poem. 

Not only does he have freedom within the structure, but he also has freedom of his word choice and the words he wants to stress. Nuns are known for having to follow strict rules due to their religious duties. Yet Wordsworth states that they do not fret at their convent’s narrow room. Hermits are people who lives in complete solitude as a religious discipline, but Wordsworth tells the reader that they are content with their cells. Students are required to learn in dull environments and still Wordsworth states that they are satisfied with their pensive cells. His repeating multiple different occupations serves several purposes. Its first purpose is to give the reader a context to examine within their own lives. This makes the poem more relatable and more interesting. It also helps put his point into perspective. Freedom is not only found in the bounds of a poem, but everywhere in life, which makes understanding why he uses these extremely confined occupations instead of more joyful occupations simple. If the most restrained people are happy and free, then there must be a correlation between confines and happiness. 

That said, one must not imprison themselves from within. Wordsworth’s repetition of the word “prison” can be dissected to help explain a difficulty within confinement. The first meaning being a metaphysical prison inside the reader’s mind and the second being a genuine prison. This plays with the idea that humans create prisons within the mind, which causes them to feel restrained, when in reality they have freedom. If we are restricted to something we automatically assume that we have no flexibility. Wordsworth wants the reader to know that being confined to something does not take away liberty, quite the contrary. Being confined to something gives you freedom. 

So, true sovereignty lies within someone. This is interesting when the reader takes a closer look at Wordsworth’s word choices. Wordsworth use of the word “soul” instead of another word, such as people, is fascinating. Soul is usually defined as the immaterial part of a human. It is someone’s emotional and intellectual energy. Going off the last point, true freedom is created, not given. Hence, it is up to the person to decide whether or not they have self-direction. They can either create a mental prison within their head and have no power, or they can decide that they are going to create flexibility within the confines they are given and thus be free.  

Wordsworth ends the poem by finishing his point with the thought of too much independence. Most would think of freedom as weightless, but Wordsworth denies this by stating “the weight of too much liberty” (Wordsworth 13). This helps the reader round off Wordsworth’s larger point that too much freedom can be counterproductive. The more discretion you have the less free you truly are. Too much sovereignty can weigh a person down by giving them so many options that it is impossible to narrow their choices. Having so many options make it harder for people to actually make decisions. Also when there is complete free reign there is no purpose or meaning. Confinement creates meaning, not only externally, but also internally. A person can create value within their work while giving their own life purpose. Just as Wordsworth has found meaning within his poems, the reader can find meaning everywhere in life.  

Freedom is a broad term, but to Wordsworth freedom is having the ability to express oneself uniquely to the world. True liberation is not given to someone. Self-will is decided by the individual and is only found within a confinement. Just like a nun is happy with her convent’s narrow room and a maid is happy at her wheel, Wordsworth is happy within his sonnet. He shows through syntax, word choice and word placement how there is leeway within even the most extreme confinement. It is inherent nature to want to be unrestrained, but that freedom is not all that it seems. Similar to Wordsworth, one would find brief solace with the weight of too much liberty. Wordsworth’s poem helps the reader understand that you have the ability within yourself, even if you do not see it. You have the power to choose whether or not you will truly, be free. 
