Good that is Found in Confinement
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In William Wordsworth's sonnet "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room," Wordsworth explains his thoughts about confinement. He states his belief that people do not dislike being confined to their "place" in the world but rather this confinement is comforting, and necessary to both mind and body in order to grow.
At the beginning of the sonnet, Wordsworth provides a number of examples of different people that are confined in some way, and happy with this confinement. Wordsworth's definition of confinement is not purely a physical restraint. The nun and the hermit are confined to their respective spaces, but the maid and the weaver are confined to their work, or source of income by the basic need of money. In this way, Wordsworth shows that one can be confined by the need to make money and survive, as well as by the walls that one has placed around him or herself. After he tells the reader that these people are "blithe and happy,"(5) Wordsworth provides a contrasting example of a bee that has freedom, yet is not happy. He tells the reader that the bee is soaring without limit, but complains all the while. This is a sharp contrast to the first part of the sonnet, and at this point, Wordsworth has both shown us the happiness to be found in confinement, and the unhappiness that is found when all confinement is removed. After providing these two examples, Wordsworth makes a general statement about the way all people confine themselves...