Solutions

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 9 Fog

Thinking About the Poem
(Page 115)

Question 1.
1. What does Sandburg think the fog is like?
2. How does the fog come?
3. What does ‘it’ in the third line refer to? CBSE 2012
4. 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. say that the fog is like a cat? Find three things that tell us that the fog is like a cat.

Answer:
1. Sandburg thinks that the fog is like a cat.
2. The fog comes silently like a cat on its small feet.
3. ‘It’ refers to fog.
4. The poet does not actually say that the fog is like a cat, but he uses the metaphor of cat for comparison.
Three things that tell us that the fog is like a cat are:
It comes silently like a cat on its small feet.
It looks over like a cat.
It sits on its haunches like a cat.

Question 2.
You know that a metaphor compares two things by transferring a feature of one thing to the other.

1. 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, growls
Train Snake Long rope like body
Fire Sun Symbol of power
School Temple Teaches moral values, virtues
Home Shelter Safety, warmth

2. 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:
Do it yourself

Question 3.Does this poem have a rhyme scheme? Poetry that does not have an obvious rhythm or rhyme is called free verse?

Answer:
This poem does not have a rhyme scheme as the sentences do not end with like sounds. There is no pattern of similarity in the sounds of the ending words of any of the sentences, therefore the poem is written in free verse

Important Question

NCERT CBSE for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 9 Fog Important Questions

Very Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
According to the poet, what is the fog like?
Year of Question:(2010)

Answer:
According to the poet, the fog is like a cat.

Question 2.
How does the fog come?
Year of Question:(2003)

Answer:
The fog comes slowly and silently.

Question 3.
What is the fog compared to?
Year of Question:(2015)

Answer:
The fog is compared to a cat.

Question 4. What does the fog look over ?
Year of Question:(2007)

Answer: The fog looks over the harbour and the city.

Question 5.
How does the poet make the fog like a living creature?
Year of Question:(2018)

Answer:
The poet makes the fog like a living creature by comparing it to a cat.

Question 6.
How does the fog move on?
Year of Question:(2019)

Answer:
The fog moves on slowly.

Question 7.
How does the poet describes the fog’s movements?
Year of Question:(2015)

Answer:
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.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
The poet actually says that the fog is like a cat, With reference to the poem, ‘Fog’ explain this statement.
Or
Think of any other animal that can best replace the cat in the poem, ‘Fog’. Write a few lines that would tell us about the resemblance of Fog with that animal.
Year of Question:(2012)

Answer:
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.

Question 2.
How does the poet make the fog like a living creature?
Year of Question:(2008)

Answer:
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.

Question 3.
How is the fog like a cat? What three things suggest it?
Year of Question:(2014)

Answer:
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.

Question 4.
How does the poet employ the double imagery of the fog and the cat?
Year of Question:(2011)

Answer:
The poetic device of metaphor is very effectively used in the poem. The fog is converted into a cat and the cat is morphed back into the fog. The silent arrival of the fog is like a little cat. The fog stays there sitting like the cat on its haunches.

Question 5.
Describe the similarities that have been mentioned in the poem between the fog and a cat.
Year of Question:(2019)

Answer:
It is a dual image that changes and merges again in the original. The fog changes into a cat and the cat changes into the fog. Both of them come silently unseen and suddenly. Both engulf everything underneath them. The fog engulfs everything, the harbour and the city in its fold. The fog sits silently as a cat sits on its haunches. Then it disappears and moves ahead.

Question 6.
Which aspect of nature Carl Sand-burg presents in the poem ‘Fog’?
Year of Question:(2007)

Answer:
The poet presents nature in its raw and natural state. The fog comes as if from nowhere. It comes suddenly and silently like a little cat. The fog’s power is overwhelming. It engulfs everything, the city and the harbour in its all-embracing fold. Then following the law of change, it disappears, no one knows where.

Question 7.
Does the poet actually say that the fog is like a cat? Then how do we know that the fog is like a cat?
Year of Question:(2009)

Answer: The poet compares fog to a cat. A cat comes without making any noise and goes away. In the same way, the fog comes and spreads slowly and silently over harbour and city.

Question 8. What three things tell us that the fog is like a cat?
Year of Question:(2006)

Answer:
(i) The fog comes slowly and silently like a cat.
(ii) The cat sits on its haunches for some time looking around and then moves away as it came.
(iii) Similarly, the fog spreads over the harbour and city for some time. Finally, it moves away like a cat.

Question 9. The fog comes on like cat feet. How does the poet compare the fog with a cat? What poetic device is used here?
Year of Question:(2010)

Answer:
The cat comes silently and slowly. In the same way, the fog also comes slowly and silently. The poetic device used here is personification. The fog has been personified.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What metaphor has the poet used in the poem ‘Fog’? Do you think it is appropriate?
Year of Question:(2002)

Answer:
In the poem Tog’, 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.

Question 2.
How does Carl Sandburg describe the arrival, stay and departure of fog through the image of a metaphorical cat?
Year of Question:(2000)

Answer:
The poet employs a double image. The fog is converted into a cat and the cat morphs back into the fog. The arrival of the fog is silent and sudden. It comes as if from nowhere. Its arrival is like a small cat. It sits and stays for a while. It engulfs everything in its all-embracing fold. It spreads its fold everywhere from the harbour to the city. It sits silently as a cat sits on its haunches. The fog stays but not for long. A cat never stays at one place for a long time. So, the fog moves ahead no one knows where. Carl Sandburg describes the raw aspect of nature, the all-embracing and prevailing fog. Its silent power is felt everywhere from the harbour to the city.

Extract Based Questions
Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Question 1.
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbour and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Year of Question:(2016)
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?

Answer:
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.

Important Questions and Answers from the Poem Fog

Question1.
What metaphor does Carl Sandburg use in the poem Fog? Do you think it is appropriate?

Answer:

  • Metaphor Used:
  • The poet compares the fog to a cat
  • Appropriateness of the Metaphor:
  • The fog arrives quietly, just like a cat moving on its soft feet
  • The fog stays for a while, looking over the harbour and city like a cat sitting on its haunches
  • The fog departs silently, much like a cat leaving without notice
  • Conclusion: The comparison is apt because both the fog and the cat are quiet, mysterious, and stealthy in their movements
Question2.
How does Carl Sandburg describe the arrival, stay, and departure of the fog?

Answer:

  • Arrival of the Fog:
  • The fog comes silently like a cat walking on its soft feet
  • Stay of the Fog:
  • It sits quietly on silent haunches, looking over the harbour and city
  • It creates an atmosphere of stillness, as if it is observing its surroundings like a cat
  • Departure of the Fog:
  • After a while, the fog moves on quietly, just like a cat leaving without making a sound
  • Conclusion: The poet uses a beautiful metaphor to depict how the fog mimics the behavior of a cat
Question3.
What similarities does the poet describe between the fog and a cat?

Answer:

  • Silent Movement:
  • Both the fog and a cat arrive without making any noise
  • Sitting Still:
  • The fog sits over the city just like a cat sits on its haunches, staying in one place quietly
  • Leaving Quietly:
  • Both the fog and the cat depart silently without disturbing their surroundings
  • Conclusion: The fog and the cat share characteristics of stealth, quietness, and stillness, which makes them comparable
Question4.
Why does Carl Sandburg compare the fog to a cat?

Answer:

  • Silent Arrival:
  • A cat walks softly without making noise, just like the fog that arrives without warning
  • Observation:
  • The fog sits quietly, watching over the harbour and city, similar to a cat that sits and watches its surroundings
  • Sudden Departure:
  • Both the fog and the cat leave without causing any disturbance, moving on to another place
  • Conclusion: The poet uses the metaphor of the cat to show the quiet, mysterious, and unnoticed presence of the fog
Question5.
How does the poet personify the fog in the poem?

Answer:

  • Personification through Comparison:
  • The poet personifies the fog by comparing it to a cat, giving it human-like traits of movement and observation
  • Human-like Actions:
  • The fog comes, sits, and moves on, which are actions usually associated with living beings, especially animals like a cat
  • Conclusion: The poet effectively personifies the fog by attributing it with the behaviors of a cat
Question6.
What do the fog and the cat symbolize in the poem?

Answer:

  • Fog Symbolism:
  • The fog represents natures quiet and mysterious presence in the world
  • Cat Symbolism:
  • The cat symbolizes stealth, quiet observation, and independence
  • Conclusion: Together, the fog and the cat symbolize the silent but powerful presence of nature, which moves in and out of our lives without causing a disturbance
  • Additional Short Questions:
Question7.
How is the movement of the fog described in the poem?

Answer:

  • The fog comes quietly like a cat, it sits on silent haunches, and then moves on without making any noise
Question8.
What is the setting of the poem?

Answer:

  • The fog moves over the harbour and the city, enveloping them in silence before leaving

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