Final draft

Analysis of “Nuns Fret Not” by WIlliam Wordsworth

Everybody has their role and place in society. They are bound to something and meant to do it. To others it may seem torturous but to that individual it is what completes their life. They are perfectly content with their job and they do it well. In the poem, “Nuns Fret Not”, author William Wordsworth expresses his belief that people will not be happy until they feel like they have a job to do and can therefore properly integrate into society. He further elaborates upon this idea by saying when people have ‘too much liberty’ they will be unhappy as well because solace is found in work. Throughout his poem, Wordsworth explains the values that a structure has on it’s members and even to himself.

Wordsworth starts off the poem with his metaphor of nuns simply to show that even the “extreme” side of the confined spectrum can appreciate their roles. Obviously nuns do not lead exciting lives but they find peace with just doing their jobs. This is a great example of how one of the worst jobs to most is comforting to a nun. He further relates this to hermits and shows that even the life of a hermit can be fulfilling. Although they may live by themselves and are completely away from all human contact, they are perfectly happy or in the words of Wordsworth, “Contented with their cells”. On the third line he address the job of the student. A student must have extreme discipline to accomplish tasks and receive high marks. Although the job of the student would seem like a complete bore they are also content with “...their pensive citadels (line 3)”. These 3 places in society are probably the most confined but to those in them they do not feel this way. A nun enjoys serving god just like a hermit likes to be alone and a student enjoys learning.

Next Wordsworth talks about maids and weavers. On the outside these would seem like the most boring and meticulous jobs but to the workers it is almost soothing. He shows this even on a deeper level with his rhyming by sticking with the set pattern the whole way through the poem. He even states that the maid and weaver are ‘blithe and happy’, which also can be shown by the light hearted and upbeat tone of the poem that Wordsworth maintains even when talking about boring and uneventful jobs. Their jobs are exactly the same day in and day out but they find peace in the routine. It allows them to focus and be productive because they don’t have to think about what to do just like how Wordsworth puts it that too much freedom puts a weight on your shoulders.

Towards the middle of the poem he explains that this contentment with a set role proves not only true in our society but for nature as well. With the metaphor of the bees looking for flowers he talks about how they will search for flowers and then gather pollen for hours at a time. However it is simply just what they do and it is their duty to the colony, just like ours to society, and they are content with that. Bees don’t know any better than to just do the same thing everyday but they are more than content with that. It is what their colony/society needs to function at its best. Bees flying around with no flowers in sight or pollen to gather look restless and lost much like how we feel when we have too much freedom and therefore no role in society.

The fact that the poem is a sonnet is symbolic of the poem in its self. Sonnets have structure and set rules just like the different types of people in Wordsworth’s poem. For this he uses the fairly traditional Petrarchan/Italian sonnet where the rhyming works out to be in the form abbaabba cdecde or the 8-6 pattern. He also uses a volta, or turning point of the poem, at around the 8th line which is also very standard. While he is talking about finding solace in structure he is not just reffering to others but also to himself. It is almost like he feels like the structure of the sonnet takes the weight off his shoulders as a poet. He is more than happy to stay within the lines and to just express his thoughts. Wordsworth knows that if he had more ‘liberty’ he would have too many ideas and would not be as effective as a poet. He shows that a poet must first embrace the disciplined format of the sonnet in order to be effective.

Although at first glance the poem seems to relate finding the joy in confinement only to the work of others, Wordsworth is showing this value of discipline in his own work of sonnets. The metaphor of nuns, hermits, students, workers and bees simply gives the poem’s reader something to relate to. These jobs may seem like an imprisonment from the outside perspective, it is actually where those individuals find their nirvana. Without a job or task to accomplish the individual will feel meaningless. They will never be able to obtain an inner peace unless they find their perimeters to work within. A person without a role is like the bee with no flower, lost and unhappy.

Wordsworth himself admits to liking the rigid structure of the 8-6 sonnet and finds peace writing within its tight boundaries. The form actually allows him to play within it and still allows for his creativity and personality while at the same time channeling his ideas. In lines 10-11 he confesses, “In sundry moods, ‘twas pastime to be bound/ Within the Sonnet’s scanty plot of ground.” He uses this adjective of sundry, meaning various, to show that he truly does not feel tied down at all when writting in the structure of the sonnet. Wordsworth shows that writing in form doesn’t necessarily have to lessen the poet’s creativity. In truth poets gain freedom by not having to worry about creating their own rhyme and form. Even though from the perspective of a non poet the sonnet structure would seem like a ‘scanty plot of ground’ is what Wordsworth feels brings out his best and makes him content. People will remain unhappy and lead unfulfilling lives until they can strive and explore the boundaries within their own structures.