"Nuns Fret Not" by Willam Wordsworth - External Structure

Nuns Fret Not is a fairly traditional Italian Sonnet with subtle differences. It follows an atypical rhyme scheme, abbaabba cddced which is slightly different from the commonly used abbaabba cdecde. It can also be said that the traditional 8-6 form is more of an 8.5-5.5 or 7-7 structure.

The sonnet and its rigid structure fits well with the meaning of Wordsworth’s poem: It’s better to have one’s choices constrained. The first five lines talk about various people and things who value constraint. A nun celebrates the confining nature of her work as a student celebrates his “pensive citadels” or a hermit values his “cell.” Since they make these choices voluntarily, they value the constraint their choices bring.

Their choices bring “blithe and happy” times and allow for people to soar as “High as the highest Peak of Furness-fells.” At the same time, Wordsworth is also making a statement about sonnets. Due to a sonnet’s confining nature, people feel that it can limit creativity and imagination. Wordsworth disagrees and instead believes that a Sonnet’s “scanty plot of ground” gives him solace from “too much liberty.” This concept is relatively new in a world where consumers are given as much choice as possible. In fact, a recent book was published on the very subject. The Paradox of Choice explores how too many choices can overload the human mind and cause the brain to freeze up in such situations. In some cases, more isn’t better.

It seems Wordsworth understood this concept before we did. By arguing his case through a sonnet’s restrictive nature, he walks the talk. The prison which we doom ourselves to is not actually a prison but a place of solace.

-Update, the 8-6 split lends to two different sections talking about two different subjects. In this case, the first ~8 lines talk about real life while the last 6 talks about sonnets. Both are related in that they both contain confinement.

A Reading of the Poem
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