‘The grass is greener on the other side’. Explain this with reference to the
Princess and the Gypsies.
Answers
(Main idea: The princess thinks that her life is boring, and the gypsies have a lot of fun. She does not know about the difficulties that they have to face.)
The question is from the poem "The Princess and the Gypsies" by Frances Darwin Cornford. The poem focusses on how the princess feels that her life is miserable and wants to leave everything and join the gypsies, who are free to 'roam the wide world'. She thinks that the gypsies have a wonderful life, and do not have troubles like her, that they can live close to nature, and be happy.
However, what she does not know is that if the gypsies enjoy the summers, they also need to deal with the wintery frost. Since they travel around so much, their shoes get worn out, and so they have to walk around bare feet. Also, though they bathe in silvery streams, the water of those streams is very cold. Further, they do not have the luxury of eating sugary cakes, but have to survive on bitter barley bread. They are not rich, have to tread through muddy areas without footwear, often get cuts on their feet, have dogs barking at them unkindly, and struggle against bad weather conditions.
The princess, who did not know any of these details, always thought that the grass was greener on the other side. She was convinced that the gypsies enjoyed their lives while she was stuck in misery. At the end of the poem, the princess decides not to join the gypsies, and goes back to her own palace.
More information on poetry:
https://brainly.in/question/40342476 ("The Daffodils" by William Wordsworth)
https://brainly.in/question/40598337 ("The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost)