Question

summary of "the fog" by WH davies

Answer 1

In this stanza, the poet describes the arrival of the fog towards the city of Chicago. As we know, fog consists of tiny droplets of water suspended in the air. Hence, it is a fluid, and fluids move in a flowing manner. Their movement has no solid manifestation. That is why it seems to the poet that the fog is gliding towards the city. He compares this gliding movement to the movement of a cat. This is a very apt comparison. Even though a gliding movement is also engaged in by other creatures, for example, the snake, the fog also has a substantial mass that is not present in any of these creatures other than a cat. Moreover, a cat is known to move surreptitiously. This is easy for the cat to do since the padding under its paws is very soft and it does not make any noise while the cat is moving. Similarly, the fog is also approaching Chicago silently but surely.