Answers to NCERT Questions
Thinking about the poem
1. Answer the following questions :
a. What does sandburg think the fog is like?
b. How does the fog come?
c. What does ‘it’ in the third line refer to?
d. 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.
Ans:
i. Sandburg thinks that the fog is like a little cat sitting on her haunches. ii. The fog comes silently and slowly.
iii. In the third line, ‘it’ refers to the cat and the fog as well.
iv. The poet does not say it. but he refers to it through a metaphor. the three things are:
a. the fog comes
b. it sits looking over harbour and city on silent haunches.
c. it then moves on.
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. Also try to say how they are alike. The first is done for you.
Storm | tiger | pounces over the fields, growl |
Train | ||
Fire | ||
School | ||
Home |
(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.
Ans:
(i)
Storm | tiger | pounces over the fields, growl |
Train | snake | moves on its rail, hisses |
Fire | dragon | gobbles up, roars |
School | temple of learning | teaches, instructs, ringing bells |
Home | cave | safety, comfort |
(ii) students do it yourself.
3. Does this poem have a rhyme scheme? Poetry that does not have an obvious rhythm or rhyme is called ‘free verse’.
Ans: The poem does not have a rhyme scheme. it has a free verse.
Additional Questions
Extract Based Questions
Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow: (4 Marks each)
1. The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbour and city on silent haunches and then moves on.
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?
Ans:
a. The fog comes on little cat feet.
b. It looks over the harbour and the city, like a cat sitting on its haunches.
c. In the end, the fog moves on.
d. Here, ‘it’ is the little cat as well as the fog.
Short Answer Questions (30–40 words: 2 Marks each)
1. The poet actually says that the fog is like a cat. With reference to the poem, ‘Fog’ explain this statement.
Ans: The fog is compared to a cat. He says a cat does not make a sound when it walks so also is the fog. But its presence is apparent. Its ‘silence’ is very much like that of a cat moving on its little feet. The way the fog sits is very much like a cat sitting on its haunches, looking here and there.
2. How does the poet make the fog like a living creature?
Ans: The poet describes the fog as a cat. He does so through a metaphor. The fog is the cat itself. As a cat jumps and lights on its soft silently, the fog also comes down noiselessly. Then it moves on like a cat.
3. How is the fog like a cat? What three things suggest it?
Ans: Three things suggest that the fog is like a cat. Like a cat, the fog comes silently. The fog is looking over the harbour and the city like a cat does so sitting on its haunches. Thirdly, it moves as the cat moves.
4. How does the poet describe the fog’s movements?
Ans: The poet describes the fog as a cat. Like a cat, the fog comes silently and slowly. It is sitting on its haunches. And then it moves on.
Long Answer Question (100–150 words: 8 Marks each)
1. What metaphor has the poet used in the poem ‘Fog’? Do you think it is appropriate?
Ans: In the poem ‘Fog’, Carl Sandburg has metaphorically compared the fog to a cat. The first strange thing about the metaphor is the comparison of a phenomenon with a living animal. Perhaps the poet wants to emphasize the silent nature and mysterious ways of the fog, so he has compared the fog to a cat. A cat does not make a sound when it walks. So also is the fog, but its presence is apparent. Its “silence” is very much like that of a cat moving on its little feet. Then the fog stays in its place looking over the harbour and city which creates a hazy atmosphere all around. The way it sits is very much like a cat sitting on its haunches, looking here and there before it makes a move. This is as if the fog remains a silent spectator of the happenings in the city. Whatever the purpose may be, both the fog as well as a cat make their impression and make their presence felt. The comparison of the fog to a cat seems very appropriate because, reading the poem, one feels that truly, the fog approaches stealthily, just like a cat.
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