In the poem “Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room” by William Wordsworth, the author uses the literary tool of irony in order to present the idea on how restrictions, no matter how exasperating they may seem, actually make some people quite contempt depending on the situation of the person in question.

The poem is structured as a sonnet form, and I believe Wordsworth uses this specific form of poem in order to further prove his point of how restrictions can actually help people. In the last two lines of the poem, Wordsworth states, “Who have felt the weight of too much liberty, Should find brief solace there, as I have found” (lines,13-14) meaning that he adores using the sonnet form because it gives him serenity in his writing process, given that he does not need to worry about using other forms of poems such as free verse, ballad, and lyric. While many writers may see this as a ceiling for their literary proficiency, Wordsworth sees the boundary in a much more progressive way.

Furthermore, many people who are raised in certain conditions become habituated to those environments they were raised in. In the first line, “Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room” (line,1) shows an example of that statement as many nuns are fostered to become nuns at a young age. Nuns are used to having very few possessions as well as having a “narrow room” (line, 1) not only is that all they know, but having something different than they are used to may not put them in as much peace as the latter.

Towards the second line of the sonnet, Wordsworth states, “And hermits are contented with their cells”(linw, 2). This quote shows how certain confinements can help people with certain conditions. While many people take pleasure in going outside to converse and spend time with the people they adorn, hermits on the other hand enjoy the opposite. Hermits enjoy the limits of their homes due to their inherit reclusiveness, they seek these limitations because these conditions are what hermits thrive and live in. Just as Wordsworth is contempt with restraining his poems to sonnet form, allowing him to think outside of the box and create a more meaningful piece of literature.

Moreover, t can also be said that the author may be showing the reader how certain restraints in the workplace may benefit them depending on what the person may do for a living. In line four, Wordsworth states, “Maids at the wheel, the weaver at his loom”(line,4), although Wordsworth is only referring to two professions in this line this could apply to many other workers who also enjoy their places of work. For example, a chef is constrained to his kitchen, a mechanic to his garage, and a pilot to his cockpit, yet all these workers enjoy what they do and have no issue with being confined to the places where they work and spend most of their time in.

Finally, in lines eight through nine, Wordsworth states the most important sentences of the sonnet, “In truth the prison, into which we doom, Ourselves, no prison is: and hence for me”. To paraphrase, Wordsworth believes that whatever “prison”(line, 8) you may put yourself in, whether it be a profession, religious group, or lifestyle, we all set boundaries for ourselves that allow us to be more comfortable throughout our daily lives. Not only that, but a prison we force ourselves in is not actually a prison at all, but more of a mental boundary we put ourselves behind. Furthermore, putting ourselves in behind these limitations doesn’t actually hurt us or confines us from enjoying our lives, but actually helps us to enjoy our lives and reduce the stress we may have within them.

The use of irony throughout the poem is a very common trend as we expect all of these tedious tasks to be as some form of prison, restricting these workers from venturing outside to do as they please. Even the sonnet form used to make this poem serves as another argument for Wordsworth’s message about constraints. However, this is not the case as many individuals are raised, conditioned, or born without the ability to enjoy anything outside their believed constraints. Yet many people choose to put themselves within certain restraints, in order to allow them to thrive in an environments comfortable for them to do so.
