As a society from an early age we are taught the idea that freedom allows us to make our own decisions, which in effect causes us to be happy. We are raised to understand that freedom is an extremely powerful thing, it builds civilizations and cultivates the people in them. In certain cases, some people decide that it is too overwhelming a task to have so many options. Many people turn to alternative lifestyles to find happiness in places most people do not. The sonnet Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent’s Narrow Rooms was written by William Wordsworth with a series of metaphors, use of rhythm, and a strong purpose of tone to introduce the acceptance of more simplistic lifestyles.   

Moreover, Wordsworth’s use of metaphor is very powerful, and paints an interesting picture of self-understanding and acceptance of one’s life and occupation. His words, “In truth the prison, unto which we doom Ourselves, no prison is”, is a metaphor (Wordsworth 65). The “prison” mentioned above is determined to be no prison at all by Wordsworth. In fact, the “prison” is actually someone’s livelihood or passion, that are viewed poorly because of the restrictions they put upon one’s life. His words attempt to explain that they aren’t prisons, because those people find comfort in their jobs. Wordsworth gives examples of this in the beginning of his poem. Wordsworth entitles his poem and begins with, “Nuns fret not at their convents narrow room; And hermits are contented with their cells;” (Wordsworth 65). The preceding quote introduces the idea that nuns are not concerned with material things, whereas many people would scoff at the idea of life as a nun. Their lives are ones of solitude and almost no freedom of choice, so people aren’t receptive to the vocation. He also incorporates the life of a hermit, saying they are content with their “cells”. The “cells” that some would consider shanty and destitute, are a hermit’s home and they find happiness there. The metaphors above convey the overall messages Wordsworth was trying to lay out for the reader.

In addition, to further prove his point, Wordsworth uses rhythm. He writes this poem in the Sonnet form as stated in the text. There is a smoothness to the rhythm in the words, “convents narrow room”, “weaver at his loom”, and “bees that soar for bloom” (Wordsworth 65). The rhyme scheme draws emphasis to these words, because they are each important to his message. Each of these contribute to his message in a different way. To begin, the narrow room is something looked down upon in society. People see the narrow room as a limitation of choices. Most people want bigger things, however, some people prefer the narrow room. In a similar sense, the occupation of being a weaver at a loom is viewed as a lower class position. To work a job of a trade, especially in this time period was seen as a mark of poverty. In some cases, the status did not matter and certain people were content with the simplicity of creating cloth. In the third example, bees soar for the bloom reinforces the points above. Bees do this task because it is their natural job to do so. They do not have a choice in it, but still they find happiness while they pollinate foxglove bells. The mindless task may take away from the otherwise overbearing world. Although the examples of these jobs and positions are looked poorly upon, they drive home Wordsworth’s messages that happiness is in the eye of the beholder.

Furthermore, to continue his message Wordsworth incorporates a tone that conveys freedom into his sonnet. He speaks of those “Who have felt the weight of too much liberty”, because the many options may weigh them down and take their toll (Wordsworth 65). They are the people who moved on to a more constructed regime of living. Those people like the nuns, maids, and weavers chose a life of simplicity. They utilized their freedom of choice to take a new path towards a more structured life. Even Wordsworth does the same when he says, “Should find brief solace there, as I have found.”. He too chose a more structured life, only his was devoted to writing. The act of writing is a one-man show, it doesn’t account for very much freedom, because writing is like nun’s convent room, narrow. Wordsworth found great comfort in writing sonnets, it “‘twas pastime” for him as something he did often in his life. Some people would frown at the idea of being constricted to a tightly planned lifestyle, but it is not for them to judge the lives of others. Instead they should be accepting to the ideas that Wordsworth imposed, that happiness should be decided by the individual and no one else.  

The poem proved that the freedom of choice introduced into society was and still is relevant today. The freedom expressed in the sonnet walked hand in hand with an excellent example of the acceptance of more simple lifestyles and choices. Wordsworth combined the use of metaphors, rhythm, and a strong tone pertaining to freedom perfectly together. This created an empathetic feel throughout the whole poem, and caused the reader to understand this way of living. It was a glimpse into the way other people think and an attempt to follow their ways of thought. Overall this poems message was to encourage open-mindedness and to avoid the judgement of others. There is no right in deciding what makes other people happy, all we have control over is our own lives. 
