 In the sonnet,  Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent’s Narrow Room by William Wordsworth, Wordsworth mentions many tedious jobs. He introduces repetitive professions, and writes that if you have a positive outlook on what you do, it will become more bearable. The poet ends the poem by comparing his work of writing sonnets to the previously mentioned tasks, but he does not mind because he enjoys his work. This poem attracts the reader’s attention because no matter what lifestyle they live, everyone has tedious, repetitive jobs that they don’t want to do. Although having a positive outlook on hard work will not physically change the difficulty of that work, it will make it more enjoyable and bearable. 

Wordsworth organizes this sonnet in a very interesting way. He breaks it up into three main parts, the first section, lines 1­6 Wordsworth lists people with hard, and somewhat boring professions. Even though the jobs that he listed are exhausting, and repetitive, they “Sit blithe and happy” (Wordsworth 5) because they are able to find solace in their work. Having a positive outlook on your work gives you the ability to enjoy it. I can personally relate to this idea through my own experiences with work. I work as a coach for a hockey camp over the summer and spend my time constantly demonstrating, and saying the same thing to groups of children throughout the day. Much like this daily routine gets boring, I still work my hardest knowing that it is making me money, and a better hockey player. This positive outlook that I learn to have on my work is the same attitude that Wordsworth mentions as the main idea of the poem.

The second part of this poem explains the positive outlook that you need to have on your work to be able to enjoy it. In lines 7­9, Wordsworth says that “in truth the prison, into which we doom/ Ourselves no prison is” (8,9). What he means by this, is that no matter how tedious the task, we are only in a mental prison if we look at the job with a negative attitude. Like David Foster Wallace said in his “This is water” commencement speech, the only thing we can control is how we perceive it. There is a famous saying, “perception is reality” and this is very evident in Wordsworth’s poem. If the people with the hard professions mentioned in the poem perceive their work to be bearable, then it will be. This idea of a mental prison catches the attention of all readers because everyone has jobs that they don’t want to to, but they can learn to enjoy the work through Wordsworth’s tactic of having a positive outlook. 

In the last section of the poem lines 10­14, Wordsworth connects the tedious jobs back to his own life. While talking about the difficulties of writing sonnets, Wordsworth says “Who have felt the weight of too much liberty, /Should find brief solace there, as I have found. (13,14). What the author means by this is that despite the difficulties of writing sonnets, he does it anyways because it is what he loves and he is not afraid of the challenge because of his positive outlook. The last few lines of sonnet really bring the whole poem together. The reader learns Wordsworth’s connection to the tedious professions he listed, and learned about how Wordsworth is able to stay out of the mental prison. I can relate to these last few lines because there are many things in my life that are difficult, but I chose to not shy away from the challenge. The difficulty of writing sonnets for Wordsworth is still very prevalent, but his positive outlook lessens the stress that comes with it. 

Thinking about hard work with a positive mindset does not actually change the work that has to be done, but it makes it more bearable, and enjoyable. Wordsworth formated the sonnet Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent’s Narrow Rooms in such a way that it is divided into three 3 Sutton separate parts. In the first section of the poem Wordsworth lists many tedious jobs. The second part of the poem, he explains how if someone has a positive outlook, their work will not put them into a mental prison. The third and final section of the poem Wordsworth connects the main idea back to himself and his own experiences writing sonnets. Everyone has repetitive jobs that they don’t want to do, but by following the main idea of the poem, the tasks will not seem as bad.