Detailed Summary: Fog - English Class 10

DETAILED SUMMARY

A poem Tog’ the poet Carl Sandburg has portrayed nature and its silent working. To prove his point the poet gives a comparison of the fog and a cat. The poet says that the fog comes silently and slowly like a cat. When it comes it does not disturb us. It sits silently as a cat does. It goes on falling and looking silently over harbour and city. (Then it moves on all at once with a gust of wind)

DETAILED SUMMARY (2)

1. Fog Comes As a Cat: The poet sees the fog as a cat. It comes on its tiny silent feet as a cat does when it is stalking. Like a cat, it moves in imperceptibly and in complete silence. So, the poem ‘Fog’ becomes an extended metaphor.
2. Sits on Silent Haunches: The fog comes silently and engulfs the whole landscape in its fold. The poem presents the dual imagery of fog and cat. The fog turns into a cat. And the cat turns back into the fog. The fog moves in at a slow pace and then stops and gradually covers the whole landscape or seascape and the harbour. The fog like a cat keeps on lying for hours, It keeps on overlooking the harbour and the city below. The atmosphere all around is filled with silence and mystery. And then, like a stalking cat, it moves on. It disappears silently unnoticed.

Main Points of the Poem

1. The poet gives a powerful image of fog through a metaphorical cat.
2. The fog turns into a cat and the cat morphs back into the fog.
3. The fog comes silently and spreads all around.
4. It comes silently as a cat comes stalking.
5. It engulfs everything and looks over the harbour and the city.
6. It continues sitting silently on its haunches and then moves on.