Fog


STANZA 1
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbour and city
on silent haunches and then moves on.
Questions :
(a) How does the fog come?
 (b) Where does the fog look and how?
(c) What does the fog do in the end?
(d) For what does ‘it’ stand in the third line?
 (e) Name the poem and the poet.
(f) How does the poet make the fog look like a living creature?
Answers :
(a) The fog comes on little cat feet which means it comes silently and stealthily.
(b) It looks over the port and the city. It is like a cat sitting on its haunches.
 (c) In the end, the fog marches on.
(d) ‘It’, here, is the fog.
 (e) The name of the poem is ‘Fog’ and the poet’s name is Carl Sandburg.(f) The poet makes the fog look like a living creature by comparing it with a cat.
Q1       What does Sandburg think the fog is like? Why?
Ans      Sandburg thinks that the fog is like a cat as it comes silently and stealthily like a cat, patiently looks at the city and harbor like a cat sitting on its haunches and then just like a cat, moves on. The quite nature of a cat and fog are very similar.

Q2       Explained the poetic device ‘transferred epithet’.
Ans      The poet has used ‘transferred epithet’ in “silent haunches’. Haunches can not be silent. Silence is the quality of cat but here it has been transferred as an adjective for haunches.

Q3       Sandburg’s use of extended metaphor in the poem ‘fog’ is quite apt. Comment.

Ans      The poem is an extended metaphor as the poet sees the fog as a cat which comes on tiny, silent feet. Only a cat can move in such a way, silently, stealthily and in complete silence. A cat is an independent animal and does not follow any rule. It is free to go anywhere. Similarly, fog can shroud any place and has no boundary. A cat generally perches itself at a higher place from where it can keep a watchful eye of the landscape. Similarly, the fog also watches over the city and harbor patiently and then just like a cat, moves on.
Long Answer (Value Based) Type Questions [8 Marks each]
Question 1.
Nature has many wonders that people take for granted and never pay attention to. How is the poem ‘Fog’ different from this perspective?
Answer:
The poet has taken utmost pleasure in nature and natural phenomenon like fog. Fog is so special to the poet that he cared enough not only to write about it, but also thinks of its resemblance with other things in the world. In his close attention to fog, he found fog resembles a cat, in the way it moves and sits on its haunches. The fact that such a resemblance was found by the poet shows how connected he is to various things in nature. This poem serves as a motivation for people, who take nature for granted to find such interesting comparisons and similarities around them.

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