Page 3 - LN3-MODULE-FOG

 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. Can you ever get
to know a cat? Ever get to know fog?
 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've disappeared, faded away into the undergrowth, leaving only their aura
behind. Same with the fog.
Short lines
By keeping the lines short, the poet is controlling the pace, keeping it slow. As you read, you
have to slow down because you're not too certain about the next word or line. This reflects
the slow fog rolling in.
Imagery
Fog meets cat; cat meets fog. Note the use of feet and not paws. The image is of thick white
fog which slowly develops into a small feline, becomes life-like and is then gone. The fog is
looking, as a cat looks, taking everything in. Here we have a snapshot of a city scene. It is a
short animation.

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING : ASSIGNMENT
Q. 1. What does Sandburg think the fog is like?
Q. 2. How does the fog come?
Q. 3. What does ‘it’ in the third line refer to?
Q. 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.
Q. 5. Does this poem have a rhyme scheme? (Poetry that does not have and obvious rhythm
or rhyme is called ‘free verse’.)