1. What does the poet compare the “fog” to? Why?
Carl Sandburg's poem, "Fog," is among the few exceptions that mark Sandburg's break from free verse poetry. Fog", a mere six lines long, is written in verse-form and is an innocent expression of finding beauty in an ordinary world.
The poem begins with the simple line, The fog comes / on little cat feet. The narrator is comparing the movement of the fog to the silent, spry footsteps of a cat, an animal who is able to creep toward its destination without warning. Fog often arrives quickly, yet completely, as it covers a city or a harbor. Akin to a cat who does as it pleases, fog obeys no rules,
often shrouding the surroundings like a blanket that does not allow any light. The cat is the ultimate stealth machine in the warm-blooded animal world, moving silently through its world much as the fog does through its.
The narrator further develops the comparison between cat and fog in the second stanza of the poem. In this stanza, the fog has arrived above the city where It sits looking / over harbor and city much as a cat does when it arrives at its destination. The cat will sit and look out over the land or cityscape. Cats, from wild to domesticated, have a habit, maybe an instinct, of looking over their surroundings from elevated spots. For example, the cougar watches from the mountaintop or ledge, the lion from a hill overlooks the plains, and the house cat gazes from a tree branch or window ledge. In each case, the cat acts as if it is the master of its universe, yet it holds many secrets that are never revealed. Cats are notoriously fickle, refusing to be trained or to succumb to others' expectations of them. Similarly, the fog, because of its power and mystery, remains elusive to those wishing to break through its impenetrable walls.
Next, the narrator states that the fog is sitting on silent haunches as it looks out over the harbor and city, and, indeed, few creatures can sit as silently and patiently as the cat. Cats typically sit on their haunches as they stare out at the world. This particular stance, unique to the cat, enables them to keep watch over their surroundings, but also be ready to take off if necessary. When a cat is on its haunches, they cannot be captured because it is easy for them to escape with a quick jump. This stance also implies that their presence is always temporary. Cats, like fog, are always ready to move on when it pleases them.
Finally, the narrator explains that after looking over harbor and city the fog then moves on. Cats are known to be wandering creatures, stopping for a time and then moving on from destination to destination. Again, the fog is compared to the cat in that the fog hovers silently, but it never stays in one place too long. Fog either rolls on to another destination or disappears altogether.