Fog is a poem by Carl Sandburg that describes the arrival of fog into a city and harbor. The poet compares the fog to a cat, describing how it moves stealthily and penetrates a city without anyone noticing it.
- Comes towards the city and harbor just like a cat
- Steals forward just like a cat
- Sits quietly watching the harbor and the city
- Moves stealthily, like a cat, and penetrates a city without anybody noticing it
- Comes in the same manner as a cat, as if trying to avoid any attention
Fog
Question 1:
(i) What does Sandburg think the fog is like?
(ii) How does the fog come?
(iii) What does ‘it’ in the third line refer to?
(iv) Does the poet actually say that the fog is like a cat? Find three things that tell us that the fog is like a cat.
Answer:
1. According to Carl Sandburg, the fog appears like a cat.
2. The fog comes silently like a cat on its little feet.
3. In the third line, the term ‘it’ refers to the fog that has covered the city like a thick blanket and it
seemed to look over the city like a cat.
4. No, the poet didn’t wish to convey that the fog looked like a cat. He used the cat as a metaphor to
describe the onset of the fog that covers the city. Here are some lines that describe it:
(i) The fog comes silently on its little cat feet.
(ii) It looks over the harbour and city like a cat.
(iii) Just like a cat, it sits on silent haunches and watches over the city.
Question 2:
You know that a metaphor compares two things by transferring a feature of one thing to the other (See Unit
1).
(i) Find metaphors for the following words and complete the table below.
Storm tiger pounces over the fields, growls
Train
Fire
School
Home
Also try to say how they are alike. The first is done for you.
(ii) Think about a storm. Try to visualise the force of the storm, hear the sound of the storm, feel the power of
the storm and the sudden calm that happens afterwards. Write a poem about the storm, comparing it with an
animal.
Answer:
(i)
Storm tiger pounces over the fields, growls
Train wind moves swiftly with a rushing sound
Fire sun full of light and energy
School temple teaches moral values and virtues of life
Home nest provides hospitable and comfortable shelter to live with near and dear ones
(ii) Activity to be done by yourself.
(Note: Students can write this answer as per their personal experiences.)
Question 3:
Does this poem have a rhyme scheme? Poetry that does not have an obvious rhythm or rhyme is called
‘free verse’.
Answer:
No, this poem does not have a rhyme scheme as the sentences do not have rhyming words. It is written in
free verse with no set pattern of rhyming words towards the end of each sentence.
Train wind moves swiftly with a rushing sound
Fire sun full of light and energy
School temple teaches moral values and virtues of life
Home nest provides hospitable and comfortable shelter to live with near and dear ones
(ii) Activity to be done by yourself.
(Note: Students can write this answer as per their personal experiences.)
Question 3:
Does this poem have a rhyme scheme? Poetry that does not have an obvious rhythm or rhyme is called
‘free verse’.
Answer:
No, this poem does not have a rhyme scheme as the sentences do not have rhyming words. It is written in
free verse with no set pattern of rhyming words towards the end of each sentence.
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