The name of the poem in the NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Poetry Chapter 4 refers to the gap between two races due to the variations in skin complexion. As the distance between two people cannot be reduced, the poet believes that this discrimination is inevitable. The two characters portrayed in this show the truth which lies behind his conviction. The lady who was fair-skinned and the poet who was dark-skinned play the character of the oppressor and the oppressed in this poem.