Many times in life it is easy to get wrapped up in daily routines and forget about the little moments that make life exciting and memorable. William Wordsworth, in "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room" produces a theme that shows people that life cannot be walked through blindly. He continually shows this theme through his use of paradox, in order to create a false sense of happiness, and he pairs pleasant verbiage with rhyme for a light yet serious under tone to contradict this way of living.

Wordsworth expresses the overall theme throughout the poem by showing his readers it is a problem he faces as well.  He wants people to realize there is more to life than people may see going through their everyday routines; it is okay to take a step back and have a time to find peace in the craziness of life. In "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room" Wordsworth uses the word "blithe" (5) to describe this. There are two definitions for this word, one is simply happy or joyous and one refers to a more negative quality: the happy or carefree feeling of indifference toward something. Either definition would work, and being paired with happy, at first one may infer the use of the first definition, but after collecting information and tone throughout the rest of the poem it seems more suited that the latter definition be used. This conclusion can be made where Wordsworth writes "In truth the prison, unto which we doom / Ourselves, no prison is . . ." (8-9) in these lines Wordsworth portrays people's lives as being a "prison" (8) or a confine to what it could be -- people sometimes dread the daily tasks of getting up, going to work, driving to the grocery store, making dinner, etc. The line "Ourselves, no prison is . . ." (9) then goes on to explain that if we spent a little more time with the things that bring us peace, we could escape those confines of our minds. There is a solution to the problem of feeling trapped and suffocated by daily trials and it is finding something that gives them even just a brief moment of peace. When he talks about this solution the speaker and Wordsworth become one. He wrote:

In sundry moods, 'twas pastime to be bound

Within the Sonnet's scanty plot of ground;

Pleased if some Souls (for such there needs much be)

Who have felt the weight of too much liberty,

Should find brief solace there, as I have found. (10-14)

The speaker talks about finding "brief solace" (14) or peace "Within the Sonnet's scanty plot of ground" (11) referring to a type of poem while Wordsworth is indeed a poet. This connection between Wordsworth and the speaker makes it all the more real of an issue. He is no longer pointing fingers, he is including himself in this sad reality of life, making it easier for the reader to relate. It builds Wordsworth's credibility and softens his tone to let his readers know he is not targeting them. However, this makes it an issue for him as well and he does not take it lightly by any means. He does not want people to walk through life blindly because the whole purpose of the poem is to get people to understand life should be lived to its fullest.

Along with gaining the readers' trust by including himself in the entrapping of daily life, Wordsworth uses buoyant language and rhyme to give an easy going tone, making the flash of reality he presents less harsh. He does a good job of not placing blame in this poem which is hard to do when suggesting something so critical -- walking through life blindly is a scary thought. Life is too short to miss out on fully experiencing its greatness, but this is what Wordsworth is suggesting and he does it with such grace by the use of words "fret not" (1), "contented" (2), "happy" (5), "soar" (5), etc. The words, as well as his use of rhyming, lighten the mood making it easier and more enjoyable to read despite the harsh reality of the theme. 

Next to the reoccurring theme of Wordsworth trying to get people to live life to the fullest, paradox also plays a big part in the poem "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room." The octave lines of the poem have no correlation to each other when looked at together, and at first glance it is easy to ask, "what do any of these situations have in common?" Then when picked apart individually they make even less sense. For example, the first line reads,  "Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room" (1). Most people would not associate comfort with living in tight quarters. The next line "And hermits are contented with their cells" (2) has a similar context, because, again, most people would get stir crazy from the small living quarters. Wordsworth continues to list paradoxical situations such as these, then the word "blithe" (5) is used when he mentions the weavers. ". . . the weaver at his loom, / Sit blithe and happy. . ." (4-5). Weavers sit hours on end at their looms, doing mindless work, which plays into the more negative use of the word "blithe" (5) because even though it is placed next to the word "happy" (5), it is more of an empty contentedness rather than real joy. Wordsworth, in giving these examples, is trying to hint at the ruts of life that can easily trap us. Another paradox can be found in the word "prison" (8-9) where he wrote "In truth the prison, unto which we doom / Ourselves, no prison is . . ." (8-9). Wordsworth first says truth is the prison, but then says it is not. His point in this is to get the reader to understand that a lot of times the mind makes things up to be worse than they are. We can also confine ourselves in this way, which leads to not living life to the fullest. 

The poem "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room" is an easy poem to glaze over. It can be even an almost fun reading experience at first because of the pleasant tone Wordsworth creates with his choice of buoyant words and the easy flow produced through its rhyme. He subtly implies the theme and calls people to pay more attention in their walk through life. To set aside time for peace, to make it a more enjoyable experience, instead of holding onto an artificial happiness. These realizations may be hard for people to grasp but Wordsworth addresses it thoroughly and politely by not criticizing the reader, making the message easier to absorb.

