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SAI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
ENGLISH LESSON NOTES – STD X
MODULE 28: FOG

About the Poet
Carl August Sandburg (1878-1967) was an American poet, writer and editor. He won three
Pulitzer Prizes- two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. He wrote
poems like Grass, Chicago, etc.

Introduction to the lesson
Fog is a very small poem written by Carl Sandburg. He has described the process of arrival of
the fog into a city and the harbour. He has very beautifully compared it to a cat.

Summary of the Poem
The poet says that the fog which is generally seen during the winter season is coming
towards the city and the harbour just like a cat. This means that it is approaching the city in
a very silent manner so that no one can notice its arrival. He has compared its arrival to that
of a cat because a cat always enters a place silently. Next he says that the fog has covered
the whole of the city and harbour and it appears as if it is sitting by folding its legs and
looking around just the way a cat does when it sits on the haunches and looks around. At
the end, he describes the departure of the fog which very silently and unpredictably, again,
similar to the departure of the cat, vanishes.

Fog Poem and Explanation

The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbour and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
1. Fog: It is a thick cloud of tiny water droplets present in the atmosphere, especially in
winter.
2. Harbour; Port, dock
3. on haunches: sitting with knees bent
EXPLANATION

The poet is describing the fog. Fog is a thick cloud of tiny water droplets present in the
atmosphere. It is generally seen during the winter season. Here the poet describes the
advancement of fog towards the city and the harbour. He says the fog comes like a cat