Word Meaning, Summary, Important Questions Of Chapter 9 Fog | Class 10 

Hindi Meaning Of Difficult  Words | Chapter 9 Fog 

1Harbourthe place where ships load and unloadबंदरगाहanchorage ground, harbour
2Hauncheshipsजांघthigh, ham, haunch
3Fogthick white cloudकोहराsmoke, pea soup, mist
4Comesto arrive some where or reach a particular place or timeआनाapproach, arrive, come about
5Littlenot bigछोटाmini, small, short
6Feetthe lowest part of the body, at the end of the legपैरtrotter, toe, edge
7Sitsto rest your weight on your bottomबैठनाroost, seat, settle
8Lookinghaving the appearance mentionedदेखनाfocus, watch, view
9Citya large and important townशहरcity, town, burg
10Silent making no noiseमूकnoiseless, soundless, peaceful
11Movesa change of place or positionस्थान-परिवर्तनpass, make a move, shift




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About The Poet | Chapter 9 Fog 

INTRODUCTION
“Fog”, written by Carl Sandburg, was first published in Chicago Poems in 1916. It is a poem that reflects Sandburg’s interest in the natural world and beautifully captures a moment or two when the fog came moving in over the harbor waters, a powerful image given life through a metaphorical cat. The simple metaphors and imagery he uses captivate our imaginations and emotions and ideas of surprise, awe, and fear, to name a few.

Short Summary Of Chapter 9 Fog  In English<br>

SUMMARY

Carl Sandburg’s poem,  “Fog”, a six lines long, is written in verse-form and is an expression of finding beauty in an ordinary world.

The poem begins with the simple line, the fog comes/ on little cat feet. The narrator is comparing the movement of the fog to the silent, spry footsteps of a cat, an animal who is able to creep toward its destination without warning. Fog often arrives quickly, yet completely, as it covers a city or a harbor. Like a cat who does as it pleases, fog obeys no rules often shrouding the surroundings like a blanket that does not allow any light. The narrator further develops the comparison between cat and fog in the second stanza of the poem. In this stanza, the fog has arrived above the city where it sits looking over harbor and city much as a cat does when it arrives at its destination. The cat will sit and look out over the land or cityscape. Cats have a habit of looking over their surroundings from elevated spots. The cat acts as if it is the master of its universe, yet it holds many secrets that are never revealed. The fog, because of its power and mystery, remains elusive to those wishing to break through its impenetrable walls.

Next, the narrator states that the fog is sitting on silent haunches as it looks out over the harbor and city, and, indeed, few creatures can sit as silently and patiently as the cat. Cats typically sit on their haunches as they stare out at the world. This particular stance, unique to the cats, enables them to keep watch over their surroundings, but also be ready to take off if necessary. When cats are on their haunches, they cannot be captured because it is easy for them to escape with a quick jump. This stance also implies that their presence is always temporary. Cats, like fog, are always ready to move on when it pleases them.

Finally, the narrator explains that after looking over harbor and city the fog then moves on. Cats are known to be wandering creatures, stopping for a time and then moving on from destination to destination. Again, the fog is compared to the cat in that the fog hovers silently, but it never stays in one place too long, the fog either rolls on to another destination or disappears altogether.

TITLE JUSTIFICATION

TITLE JUSTIFICATION

The poem’s title “Fog” is as short and simple as the poem itself. It doesn’t waste any time and makes the most of its contribution to the poem. The poem is about “fog” and its traits.

Interestingly, although the title gets right to the point, the “point” is still a mysterious one, since fog is by nature rather unpredictable and a little dangerous. So, even though the title doesn’t create any illusions as to what the poem is about, it still sets us up for some imagery and language that effectively captures the slow and elusive movement of fog.

THEME

THEME

“Fog” is an aspect of nature. We don’t really get a sense of conflict between man and the natural world in the poem, rather we see in this poem more of an observation of the relationship between man and his understanding of the natural world. We see the speaker who is an observer, blending elements of nature into one image (cat-fog) and then trying to simulate the effects nature has on him through the language and form of the poem.

MESSAGE

MESSAGE

The poet dwells and observes the fog and its movement and likens it to a cat. The comparison is quite apt as the two are similar in many aspects. The poet is a silent observer of fog as part of nature and captures its elusive, independent and fickle nature.

RHYME SCHEME OF THE POEM

RHYME SCHEME OF THE POEM

“Fog” is a short poem, six lines long, split into two stanzas, It is a free verse poem, having no regular rhyme or set meter

POETIC DEVICES

  1. Metaphor

The poem is an extended metaphor. The poet seeing the fog as a cat that comes on tiny, silent feet, as cats do when they are stalking for example. Only a cat can move in such a way, almost imperceptibly, and in complete silence. A cat is an independent animal, it doesn’t follow rules, it slips and slides in and out of our lives as it pleases, just like fog, which knows no boundaries. Cats are stealthy, moving in slow motion at times. They can fix themselves onto an object or creature, seemingly in a trance, yet they appear to be moving in a most mysterious fashion. This poem captures a little of this feline mystery. The reader’s mind becomes filled with this dual imagery of fog and cat, fog turning into a cat, cat morphing back into the fog. By doing this, the poet is introducing the idea that the fog is alive and is an entity. Cats also have the habit of finding a place which gives them an overview of a landscape or territory. They can sit or lie for hours in this elevated state, taking in all that happens almost inscrutably. Fog, likewise, moves in at a slow pace and then stops, smothering everything, covering a landscape or seascape, and bringing silence and mystery. You cannot see through or into it, much like trying to understand a cat-you can only get so far. Cats like to move on at their own pace at their leisure. They become totally relaxed but when they want to move they do so usually on their own terms. Before you know it, they have disappeared, faded away into the undergrowth

  1. Imagery

Fog is the cat and the cat is the fog. Note the use of feet and not paws. The image is of thick white fog which slowly develops into a small cat, becomes life-like and is then gone. The fog is looking, as a cat looks, taking everything in silently. Here we have a description of a city scene.

  1. Syntax and structure

The poem has just six lines. Enjambment is used in all the line ie. the meaning runs into the next line. The lines are short. By keeping the lines short, the poet is controlling the pace, keeping it slow. As one reads, one has to slow down because one is not too certain about the next word or line. This reflects the slow fog rolling in. The brevity and yet the effect of the poem is amazing.

GLOSSARY

Harbour – port,

Haunches- area of the body comp hip, buttock and upper thigh.

TYPE I: REFERENCE TO CONTEXT (VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS)

TYPE I: REFERENCE TO CONTEXT (VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS)

Read the extracts and answer the following question

 

  1. The fog comes

on little cat feet.

Questions

(i) What does the poet mean by little cat feet”?

(ii) Who is the poet?

(iii) Where does the fog come?

(iv) What is the fog compared to?

Answers

(i) ‘Little cat feet here represents the silent s careful steps of a cat. The way fog comes silently resembles the steps of a cat.

(ii) The poet is Carl Sandburg.

(iii) The fog comes over the city.

(iv) The fog is compared to a cat.

  1. It sits looking

Over harbour and city

Questions

(i) What is referred to as ‘it’?

(ii) What is ‘it’ doing?

(iii) What is the poetic device used in the above line?

(iv) What quality is assigned to the fog?

Answers

(i) ‘It’ refers to the fog.

(ii) It is observing the harbour and the city.

(iii) The fog has been personified in the above It is seen as sitting.

(iv) The fog keeps watch on the city.

  1. On silent haunches

and then moves on.

Questions

(i) What is referred to here?

(ii) What is the significance of silent haunches?

(iii) What is the fog doing?

(iv) What traits does it have?

Answers

(i) Fog is referred to here.

(ii) Silent haunches give room to the fog to take rest.

(iii) The fog looks over the harbour and the city.

(iv) It is silent and moves on quietly.

  1. looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

Questions

(i) Who is looking?

(ii) Mention the figure of speech used here?

(iii) What is the figure of speech used in silent haunches.

(iv) Why does the fog move on?

Answers

(i) The fog is looking’.

(ii) The figure of speech used is personification.

(iii) The figure of speech used in silent haunches’ is transferred epithet.

(iv) The fog moves on to cover the rest of the city.

  1. The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

Questions

(i) Name the poet.

(ii) What is he describing?

(iii) How does the fog move?

(iv) What is the poetic device used in the second line

Answers

(i) The poet is Carl Sandburg.

(ii) He is describing the fog.

(iii) The fog moves like a cat.

(iv) The poetic device used in the second line is metaphor little cat feet.

TYPE II: SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (30-40 WORDS EACH)

Answer the following questions:

  1. What does Sandburg think the fog is like?

Ans. The poet thinks that the fog is like a cat. The silent steps of a cat and the way it sits on its haunches is very similar to the way fog comes and surrounds the city and looks over it. The quiet nature of the cat and fog are quite alike.

  1. How does the fog come?

Ans. The narrator is comparing the movement of the fog to the silent, spry footsteps of a cat, an animal who is able to creep toward its destination without warning. Fog often arrives quickly, yet completely, as it covers a city or a harbour. Like a cat who does as it pleases, fog obeys no rules, often shrouding the surroundings like a blanket that does not allow any light.

  1. Does the poet actually say that the fog is like a cat?

Ans. Find three things that tell us that the fog is like a cat. (Literature Reader, Q No. 1(iv), Page 115) Ans. The poet does not actually say that the fog is like a cat. The fog is metaphorically compared to a cat. The lines which make it clear are, ‘on little cat feet, silent haunches and then moves on

  1. Does this poem have a rhyme scheme?

Ans. No the poem does not have a rhyme scheme like a traditional poem. “Fog” is a short poem, six lines long, split into two stanzas. It is a free verse poem, having no regular rhyme or set meter.

  1. How does the poet compare fog to a living being?

Ans. The poet compares the fog to a cat. The silent steps of a cat and the way it sits on its haunches is very similar to the way fog comes and surrounds the city and looks over it.

  1. What image does the poet give to the fog? What are the similarities between that image and fog? Ans. The poet looks at the fog as a living creature and compares it to a cat. The fog moves like a cat on little cat feet and sits on baunches like a cat. It is quiet, mysterious and sinister like the cat.
  1. What is the figure of speech used in the phrase “silent haunches

Ans. The figure of speech used here is transferred epithet. Haunches cannot be silent or loud. The characteristic of silence belongs to the cat. But the poet instead of employing the expression ‘silent cat’ transfers the epithet -silence, before the word, “haunches’. This device helps to create the image of a cat sitting silently on its haunches very vividly

  1. What picture of the fog does the poet paint?

Ans. The poet says that the fog comes ‘on little cat feet. He also says that the fog ‘sits looking over harbour and city and then moves on. To show resemblance between the fog and a cat, the poet uses such metaphorical language that the fog is described as if it were a cat

  1. Why are harbour and city mentioned in the poem?

Ans. The two words are mentioned here as the poet is describing how the fog keeps watch over the harbour and the city and then moves on from there to envelope the rest of the areas.

TYPE III: LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS (100-120 WORDS EACH)

Answer the following questions:

  1. Carl Sandburg was a keen observer of nature. Discuss with reference to the poem ‘Fog’.

Ans. 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 an inspiration for people, to observe keenly and appreciate the many wonders of nature.

  1. The poem, Fog is a nature poem. Comment

Ans. ‘Fog’ is indeed a nature poem. 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. The poet has taken utmost pleasure in nature and natural phenomenon like fog. In his close attention to fog which 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 does not have a message as such but undoubtedly it serves as an inspiration for people, to observe keenly and appreciate the many wonders of nature.

  1. Though a short poem, ‘Fog’ conveys the poet’s sensibility effectively.

Ans. The poem, ‘Fog’ has just six lines. The lines are short. By keeping the lines short, the poet is controlling the pace, keeping it slow. As one reads, one has to slow down to focus because one is not too certain about the next word or line. This reflects the slow fog rolling in. The poet effectively conveys in these six lines his sensibility metaphorically. The poet has taken utmost pleasure in nature and natural phenomenon like fog. In his close attention to fog which he found fog resembles a cat, in the way it moves and sits on its haunches. The brevity and yet the effect of the poem is amazing. Soon the fog and cat become one in the readers’ minds. Well chosen words and metaphors create a vivid image of the fog behaving like the cat.

  1. Sandburg’s use of the extended metaphor in the poem fog’ is quite apt. Discuss.

Ans. The poem is an extended metaphor as the poet sees the fog as a cat that comes on tiny, silent feet, as cats do. The metaphor is quite apt for many reason, only a cat can move in such a way, almost imperceptibly, and in complete silence. A cat is an independent animal, it doesn’t follow rules, it slips and slides in and out of our lives as it pleases, just like fog. which knows no boundaries. Cats are stealthy. moving in slow motion at times. They appear to be moving in a most mysterious fashion. The reader’s mind becomes filled with this dual imagery of fog and cat, fog turning into a cat, cat morphing back into the fog. By doing this, the poet is introducing the idea that the fog is alive and is an entity. Cats are inscrutable and also have the habit of finding a place which gives them an overview of a landscape or territory. Due to these reasons the metaphor of the cat is quite suitable.

  1. What is the poet’s attitude to the fog?

Ans. “Fog”, written by Carl Sandburg, was first published in Chicago Poems’. It is a poem that reflects Sandburg’s interest in the natural world and beautifully captures a moment or two when the fog came moving in over the harbour waters, a powerful ima given life through a metaphorical cat. The simple metaphors and imagery the poet uses captivate our imaginations and emotions and ideas of surprise, awe, and fear, to name a few. He observes the fog and its traits keenly and dwell on it enough to see the fog as resembling a cat. He employs well chosen words and poetic devices to convey his thoughts about the fog most effectively. Thus his attitude towards the fog is that of admiration and observation.

QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

  1. Why do you think Sandburg chose to begin his poem with a metaphor?
  2. What is the effect of short lines?
  3. How does fog move in a catlike way? Why is the imagery of a cat’s movements so important to the poem?
  4. Where does the fog move onto?
  5. What is the theme of the poem. ‘Fog’?

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For more chapters word meanings click on the links given below.

Poem​

Chapter 1 Dust Of Snow 
Chapter 2 Fire and Ice 
Chapter 3 A Tiger in the Zoo 
Chapter 4 How to Tell Wild Animals 
Chapter 5 The Ball Poem 
Chapter 6 Amanda 
Chapter 7 Animals 
Chapter 8 The Trees 
Chapter 9 Fog 
Chapter 10 The Tale of Custard the Dragon 
Chapter 11 For Anne Gregory

Prose​

Chapter 1 A Letter to God 
Chapter 2 Nelson Mandela 
Chapter 3 Two Stories About Flying 
Chapter 4 From the Diary of Anne Frank 
Chapter 5 The Hundred Dresses
Chapter 6 The Hundred Dresses
Chapter 7 Glimpses of India 
Chapter 8 Mijbil the Otter 
Chapter 9 Madam Rides the Bus 
Chapter 10 The Sermon at Benares 
Chapter 11 The Proposal

Footprints Without Feet​

Chapter 1 A Triumph of Surgery 
Chapter 2 The Thief 
Chapter 3 The Midnight Visitor 
Chapter 4 A Question of Trust 
Chapter 5 Footprints without Feet 
Chapter 6 The Making of a Scientist 
Chapter 7 The Necklace 
Chapter 8 The Hack Driver 
Chapter 9 Bholi 
Chapter 10 The Book that Saved the Earth

Download Free pdf For NCERT English Solutions Class 10

NCERT Solutions For Class 10 English First Flight Poem

Chapter 1 Dust Of Snow 
Chapter 2 Fire and Ice 
Chapter 3 A Tiger in the Zoo 
Chapter 4 How to Tell Wild Animals 
Chapter 5 The Ball Poem 
Chapter 6 Amanda 
Chapter 7 Animals 
Chapter 8 The Trees 
Chapter 9 Fog 
Chapter 10 The Tale of Custard the Dragon 
Chapter 11 For Anne Gregory

NCERT English Solutions for Class 10 First Flight Prose

Chapter 1 A Letter to God 
Chapter 2 Nelson Mandela 
Chapter 3 Two Stories About Flying 
Chapter 4 From the Diary of Anne Frank 
Chapter 5 The Hundred Dresses (1)  
Chapter 6 The Hundred Dresses (2) 
Chapter 7 Glimpses of India 
Chapter 8 Mijbil the Otter 
Chapter 9 Madam Rides the Bus 
Chapter 10 The Sermon at Benares 
Chapter 11 The Proposal

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Footprints Without Feet

Chapter 1 A Triumph of Surgery 
Chapter 2 The Thief 
Chapter 3 The Midnight Visitor 
Chapter 4 A Question of Trust 
Chapter 5 Footprints without Feet 
Chapter 6 The Making of a Scientist 
Chapter 7 The Necklace 
Chapter 8 The Hack Driver 
Chapter 9 Bholi 
Chapter 10 The Book that Saved the Earth

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