Navigating through the English Language and Literature curriculum for Class 10 requires an in-depth understanding of imagist poetry, extended metaphors, nature verse, and minimalist poetic forms. Poem 8 of First Flight, “Fog” by celebrated American poet Carl Sandburg, is a world-renowned masterpiece of brevity, visual imagery, and metaphorical precision. In just six lines, Sandburg captures the quiet, mysterious, and transient arrival, lingering presence, and departure of fog over an urban landscape by comparing it to a small, silent cat. To help students master every aspect of this high-weightage poem, this comprehensive solutions guide offers textbook-accurate, highly structured, and pedagogically sound responses strictly aligned with the latest CBSE marking schemes and word limits.
Every question presented in the official NCERT textbook—ranging from extended metaphor analysis and structural comparisons to poetic device identification, creative writing tasks, and an expanded set of 15 board-level FAQs—has been solved with exhaustive detail. Short-answer responses are calibrated strictly to the official 30–40 word limit, while long-answer analytical questions meet the 100–120 word board standard. Key scoring terms, literary devices (such as extended metaphor, personification, enjambment, and transience), and visual imagery have been highlighted to ensure students secure maximum marks in their CBSE Board Examinations.
NCERT Class 10 English Fog Solutions
The poem depicts the natural phenomenon of fog descending upon a bustling harbor and city. Carl Sandburg employs an extended metaphor, personifying the fog as a small, gentle cat that creeps into town silently on soft, padded paws. It does not announce its arrival with loud noise or disruption; instead, it settles quietly, crouches on its haunches like an observant feline overlooking the docks, buildings, and water, and watches the world in complete silence.
Just as quietly and unpredictably as it arrived, the fog lifts, dissipates into the atmosphere, and moves on without leaving a trace. Sandburg’s minimalist free-verse style conveys the quiet majesty and fleeting nature of weather phenomena. Below are the complete, textbook-accurate solutions.
Thinking about the Poem (Page No. 115)
Question 1 (i) What does Sandburg think the fog is like? (Page No. 115) [BOARD EXAM FAVORITE]
Answer: Carl Sandburg thinks that the fog is like a little cat.
He visualizes the fog as a small, silent feline that arrives stealthily on soft, padded paws, sits quietly on its folded legs overlooking the city, and leaves without making any noise.
Question 1 (ii) How does the fog come? (Page No. 115) [BOARD EXAM FAVORITE]
Answer: The fog comes silently, slowly, and stealthily “on little cat feet.”
It advances without warning, sound, or disturbance, creeping quietly over the water and land just like a cat moving on its soft, cushioned pads.
Question 1 (iii) What does ‘it’ in the third line refer to? (Page No. 115)
Answer: In the third line (“It sits looking…”), ‘it’ refers to the fog.
The pronoun personifies the fog as a living creature that sits quietly and gazes across the harbor and city.
Question 1 (iv) Does the poet actually say that the fog is like a cat? Find three things that tell us the fog is like a cat. (Page No. 115) [BOARD EXAM FAVORITE]
Answer: No, the poet does not use the word “like” or “as”; instead, he uses a direct metaphor, treating the fog as if it were a cat.
Three specific textual details that prove the fog is portrayed as a cat are:
- Silent Arrival: It comes quietly “on little cat feet.”
- Posture of Observation: It sits quietly “on silent haunches,” looking over the harbor and city just as a crouching cat observes its surroundings.
- Stealthy Departure: It disappears mysteriously and “moves on” without making any noise.
Question 2 You know that a metaphor compares two things by transferring a feature of one thing to the other. Find examples of metaphors in the poem. (Page No. 115) [BOARD EXAM FAVORITE]
Answer: The entire poem is built upon an extended metaphor comparing fog to a cat:
- “On little cat feet” (Metaphor): The quiet, slow advance of fog is directly compared to the silent movement of a cat’s soft, padded paws.
- “On silent haunches” (Metaphor): The dense, stationary blanket of fog resting over the city is compared to a cat sitting peacefully with its knees bent and hindquarters folded.
- “It sits looking / over harbour and city” (Personification / Metaphor): The spreading of fog over vast urban geography is compared to the alert, watchful gaze of an observant cat.
Question 3 Think about a storm, heat wave, cloud, or snow. Can you describe it using a similar metaphor? (Page No. 115)
Answer: Sample Structured Composition (Describing a Thunderstorm): “The storm arrives like an angry beast, roaring across the darkened skies. It flashes its sharp fangs of lightning, pounding the earth with heavy, thundering claws, and having unleashed its fury, it slinks away into the distant hills.”
In this metaphor, the thunderstorm is personified as a ferocious wild predator, transferring qualities of roaring, flashing teeth, and sharp claws to describe thunder, lightning, and heavy downpours.
Poetic Devices and Stanza Analysis Explained
Exercise 1: Literary Devices in Fog Identify and explain the key poetic devices employed by Carl Sandburg:
Answer:
- Extended Metaphor: The central device of the poem, where the inanimate fog is continuously and directly compared to a living cat from its arrival to its departure without using ‘like’ or ‘as’.
- Personification: Attributing living, animate qualities to a natural phenomenon:
- “The fog comes on little cat feet”
- “It sits looking over harbour and city”
- “on silent haunches and then moves on”
- Free Verse: The poem does not follow any set meter, regular rhythm, or rhyme scheme, reflecting the free, unpredictable movement of natural fog.
- Enjambment: The poem consists of a single complete grammatical sentence running across six lines without full stops until the very end, mirroring the continuous, uninterrupted flow of fog.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Class 10 English Poem 8
Question 1: Who is the poet of the poem “Fog”? Answer: “Fog” is written by the celebrated 20th-century American poet and Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sandburg.
Question 2: What is the central theme of the poem “Fog”? Answer: The central theme is the silent, mysterious, and transient beauty of nature, illustrating how natural weather phenomena arrive quietly, transform the environment, and depart without human intervention.
Question 3: How does the fog arrive over the city? Answer: The fog arrives stealthily, slowly, and soundlessly, moving on “little cat feet” without disturbing the daily life of the city.
Question 4: What does the word “haunches” mean in the poem? Answer: “Haunches” refers to the hips, buttocks, and upper thighs of an animal. To sit on haunches means to sit with the legs bent and weight resting on the hind legs, as cats typically do.
Question 5: Where does the fog settle and look over? Answer: The fog settles over the harbor and the entire city, covering both maritime docks and urban buildings in a thick, quiet blanket.
Question 6: How does the fog depart? Answer: The fog departs quietly and mysteriously; after lingering for a while, it simply “moves on” and dissolves into the atmosphere without making any sound.
Question 7: Why did the poet choose a cat rather than another animal to describe fog? Answer: A cat is renowned for its silent footsteps, stealthy movements, independence, and calm posture when crouching and watching. These feline traits match the quiet, brooding nature of fog.
Question 8: What is an extended metaphor? Answer: An extended metaphor is a literary device where a single comparison between two unlike things is developed and sustained across multiple lines or throughout an entire poem.
Question 9: What is the rhyme scheme of the poem “Fog”? Answer: “Fog” is written in free verse and does not have a formal rhyme scheme or fixed metric pattern.
Question 10: What mood and atmosphere does the poem create? Answer: The poem creates a calm, peaceful, mysterious, and contemplative atmosphere, evoking a sense of quiet wonder toward nature.
Question 11: How many lines are there in the poem “Fog”? Answer: The poem is extremely concise, consisting of just six lines grouped into a single brief stanza.
Question 12: How does the brevity of the poem enhance its meaning? Answer: The short, six-line structure reflects the brief, fleeting, and temporary nature of fog itself, which stays for only a short period before vanishing.
Question 13: What does the “harbour” symbolize in the poem? Answer: The harbor symbolizes maritime trade, ships, water bodies, and human activity meeting the untamed elements of nature.
Question 14: How does Carl Sandburg’s poem demonstrate the power of observation? Answer: Sandburg demonstrates that profound poetic beauty can be discovered in ordinary, everyday weather events by observing nature with imaginative sensitivity.
Question 15: What message does the poem convey about natural changes in life? Answer: It conveys that just like fog, difficulties and quiet phases in human life arrive silently, stay for a brief period, and eventually move on, reminding us of the impermanence of all things.
Mastering the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Poem 8, “Fog”, gives students complete clarity on imagist verse, extended metaphors, and concise answer formulations. Review the comparison between the cat and the fog, the meaning of sitting on haunches, and the 15 board-level FAQs above to secure full marks in your CBSE Board Examinations.