The Full Text of “Fog”
1The fog comes
2on little cat feet.
3It sits looking
4over harbor and city
5on silent haunches
6and then moves on.
The Full Text of “Fog”
1The fog comes
2on little cat feet.
3It sits looking
4over harbor and city
5on silent haunches
6and then moves on.
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“Fog” Introduction
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"Fog" is a very short poem by the American poet Carl Sandburg, published in 1916 in Sandburg's first major poetry collection, Chicago Poems. In the poem, fog appears, settles over an unnamed city and harbor, and then simply disappears. The speaker compares this fog to a cat, saying that it has "little cat feet" and sits on its "silent haunches." The extended metaphor comparing the fog to a cat makes nature seem more mysterious and alive. Overall, the poem is an important example of the memorable, imaginative, and approachable style that earned Sandburg such popularity and influence during his lifetime and beyond.
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“Fog” Summary
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The speaker describes mist appearing as if it were a cat creeping along on its small paws.
This fog, which the speaker continues comparing to a cat, silently sits on its back legs as it looks down on the city and port. Then, the cat-like mist disappears.
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“Fog” Themes
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The Mystery of Nature
“Fog” is a very short poem that vividly describes the appearance and disappearance of fog in an unnamed city. The speaker compares this fog to a cat that appears on “little cat feet,” “sits looking” over the city on its “silent haunches,” then finally “moves on” in the poem’s last line. It’s not entirely clear how the speaker feels about the fog, which could be seen as beautiful, ominous, or a simple fact of the weather in the moment being described. Regardless, by memorably expressing the hushed presence of the fog, the poem evokes the mystery and magic of nature as a whole.
The speaker’s comparison of the fog to a cat indicates, from the start, that the poem isn’t just about fog. It’s also about nature in a larger sense, and the ways one aspect of the natural world (the fog covering a city) reminds the speaker of another (a cat). By comparing the fog, which isn’t alive, to a cat, which is, the speaker imbues the fog with a sense of life and agency, making the natural world seem more alert than people often think it is.
The speaker’s comparison makes sense on a number of levels. Both fog and cats are often silent; both are often quick to appear and disappear, as the fog does in the span of the poem’s six short lines. As the poet's metaphor links the two, the fog seems to take on further cat-like qualities. Since cats are often intensely observant, independent, and aloof, the fog seems, in the poem, to possess those qualities as well. The comparison makes the fog, which readers might take for granted as an ordinary natural phenomenon, seem mysterious and unknowable. It also suggests a connection between the living and non-living features of the natural world, as well as nature's mysterious power to make lasting impressions on the imagination. The metaphor may even invite readers to view the natural world as truly alive and observant, rather than as a passive, unremarkable part of daily life.
Finally, the poem’s comparison suggests the value of paying close attention to one’s surroundings, especially nature. The mysterious grandeur of the fog’s appearance and disappearance prompts the speaker to describe the moment in a vividly imaginative, metaphorical way. The memorable poem that results suggests the power of being immersed in, and open to, nature’s mysteries.
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Fog”
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Lines 1-2
The fog comes
on little cat feet.At first, "Fog" seems like a fairly simple poem. There's nothing especially unusual about the title or the first line: "The fog comes."
But the poem's seemingly straightforward, bare-bones style quickly shifts and becomes more interesting. Line 2 introduces a striking metaphor, comparing the fog to a cat. What kind of fog, readers might ask, appears "on little cat feet"? In what ways can fog be like a cat? Why compare fog (an inanimate, often inconvenient weather event) to a cat (an often lively and beloved animal) in the first place?
These first two lines don't necessarily answer those questions, but they do establish the fog/cat parallel that will continue throughout the poem, becoming an extended metaphor.
These lines also contain lots of alliteration and consonance: notice the repeated consonant sounds in "fog" and "feet," "comes" and "cat," and "little cat feet." These sounds announce the opening of the poem, the appearance of the fog, and the introduction of the fog/cat metaphor. The tripping/t/ sounds, in particular, mirror the pitter-patter that "little cat feet" might make so that the poem itself seems to arrive in the same delicate way as the fog.
This first stanza (a couplet) also establishes some characteristics of the poem as a whole. "Fog" is a free verse poem, meaning that it follows no set rhyme scheme or meter. Several of its lines (including line 1) are enjambed, meaning that their clauses continue across the line break (the end of the line doesn't coincide with the end of a clause or sentence). These effects give the poem a plainspoken and flexible quality; they're also hallmarks of the style that made Carl Sandburg an acclaimed, popular poet.
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Lines 3-5
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches -
Line 6
and then moves on.
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“Fog” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
"Fog" contains some alliteration and consonance in its first two lines, which describe the appearance of the fog. Notice the repetition of /f/, /k/, and /t/ sounds: "fog"/"feet," "comes"/ "cat," "little cat feet."
By creating a bit of noticeable music, alliteration emphasizes the approach of something worth paying attention to. It underscores the surprise of the fog's appearance, as well as the introduction of the poem's central, extended metaphor: the comparison between fog and cat. Those tripping /t/ sounds even sound a bit like the patter of "little cat feet"!
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
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Sibilance
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Extended Metaphor
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Enjambment
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"Fog" Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Harbor
- Haunches
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A large, protected part of a body of water (such as an ocean or lake) that serves as a docking area for boats and ships. Many harbors, as in the poem, are located near cities.
- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Fog”
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Form
"Fog" is a free verse poem, meaning that it doesn't follow a particular rhyme scheme, meter, or established poetic form.
However, the poem does have some important formal qualities. It contains two stanzas: a two-line couplet and a four-line quatrain. The couplet describes the arrival of the fog and establishes the poem's central metaphor, which compares the fog to a cat. The quatrain then describes how the fog hangs "over harbor and city" before it disappears, or "moves on."
This formal progression—from the fog's appearance to its presence in the city to its disappearance—gives the poem an elegant, three-part structure somewhat reminiscent of a haiku. In fact, Sandburg said that he wrote the poem in an attempt to create an "American hoku" (haiku).
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Meter
"Fog" is a free verse poem, meaning it doesn't follow any particular rhyme scheme or meter. The six lines that make up "Fog" vary in their number of syllables (ranging from three to seven) and the rhythm those syllables follow.
These variations help convey a sense of freedom, exploration, and even mystery or uncertainty. By varying the length and rhythm of the lines, the speaker creates a sense of curiosity and drama around the appearance and disappearance of the cat-like fog.
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Rhyme Scheme
"Fog" has no rhyme scheme; as a free verse poem, it doesn't use rhyme or meter. Its avoidance of these structures gives the poem a sense of freedom and flexibility. The relative formlessness of "Fog" might even mimic the shapelessness of the fog itself, with its shifting, unpredictable movements.
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“Fog” Speaker
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The speaker of "Fog" isn't identified by name, gender, or any other characteristic. In fact, it's hard to say anything definitive about the speaker. They seem to be in or near a city with a harbor, where a fog appears and then disappears. But even that's not completely certain—the speaker could just be imagining or remembering this fog and the urban setting. In fact, what seems most certain is that the speaker is imaginative, as evidenced by their vivid use of metaphor.
It's possible—though by no means clear—that the speaker of "Fog" is Carl Sandburg himself. Some sources suggest that the poem was inspired by an actual experience Sandburg had while living in Chicago. The poem doesn't explicitly say so, however. Rather, the speaker remains mysterious, just like the fog and, in a sense, the poem itself.
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“Fog” Setting
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The setting of "Fog" isn't specified, though the poem clearly takes place in or around a "city" with a "harbor" nearby. Of course, many cities have harbors, and the poem could be set in any one of them. However, the speaker, a possible stand-in for Sandburg himself, may have a particular American city in mind: Chicago, Illinois. Sandburg often wrote about Chicago, was a member of what came to be called the Chicago Literary Renaissance, and was living in Chicago when he wrote "Fog"—which appeared in his book Chicago Poems.
That said, nothing in the poem pinpoints the location, and in a sense, the location doesn't matter. The lack of identifying detail not only seems thematically fitting—the poem is "foggy" about its setting, speaker, and larger meaning—but also makes "Fog" feel universal and timeless, nowhere and everywhere at once.
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Literary and Historical Context of “Fog”
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Literary Context
"Fog" was published in Carl Sandburg's first major poetry collection, Chicago Poems, in 1916. At the time, Sandburg was living in Chicago, where he worked as a journalist and wrote poetry. Though there's no firm indication that "Fog" is about Chicago, it's possible that Sandburg had the city in mind when writing the poem. In fact, some sources have suggested that "Fog" was directly inspired by a Chicago fog, which, as in the poem, appeared by surprise, hovered for a while, then disappeared as quickly as it had come.
"Fog" embodies the approachable, memorable free verse style that won Sandburg critical acclaim and popular success. Sandburg was heavily influenced by the free verse style of Walt Whitman, and he became, like Whitman, a distinctly American poet fascinated by the sights, sounds, and people of his country. In Chicago, he was encouraged by Harriet Monroe, who founded Poetry magazine and published many of his poems. Along with writers like Sherwood Anderson and Theodore Dreiser, he was an important member of the movement known as the Chicago Literary Renaissance.
Sandburg wrote about both nature and the increasingly industrialized city, as in "Fog," which combines the cat-like fog with an urban setting. T. S. Eliot had woven a similar image into his longer poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," which was published in Poetry the previous year (1915) and describes a feline-seeming fog that "rubs its back" on the windows of a city.
"Fog" also draws inspiration from the Japanese haiku, a form that packs rich poetic description, often of natural scenery, into just 17 on (syllable-like units). In its brevity and rough three-part structure (the fog's appearance, presence, and disappearance), "Fog" represented Sandburg's attempt—as he put it—at "a free-going, independent American [haiku]." In turn, the brevity and intensity of "Fog" anticipates the compression and sharp visual description of a poem like "The Red Wheelbarrow" (1923), by the imagist poet William Carlos Williams.
Carl Sandburg won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, the second part of his influential, multi-volume biography of Lincoln. During his time, he was a beloved and well-recognized American cultural figure, and his work continues to influence American poetry today.
Historical Context
Though "Fog" could be about any harbor city in America—or the world, for that matter—it's likely that Carl Sandburg had Chicago, Illinois, in mind when he wrote the poem. (Chicago sits on Lake Michigan, and its harbor system extends from that lake to the Chicago River and other surrounding bodies of water.)
The probable setting of Chicago is important for historical reasons. In 1916, when "Fog" was published in Sandburg's Chicago Poems, many Midwestern cities (and Chicago especially) were rapidly growing and industrializing, prompting both concern about the effects of industrialization and celebrations of the new, modern American city. Perhaps more than any other poet, Sandburg explored the tension between the harsh realities and the emerging beauties of the industrial Midwest. (In fact, it's possible that the fog in "Fog" is not lake mist but smoke from factories.)
This period also saw Chicago's development as an important literary hub in America. In 1912, Harriet Monroe founded Poetry: A Magazine of Verse (a publication that's still based in the city today), which helped spark a movement that became known as the Chicago Literary Renaissance. Suddenly, New York and other East Coast cities no longer had a monopoly on serious literary culture; artists like Sandburg helped put Chicago on the map. Thus, while "Fog" doesn't reference Chicago specifically, it forms an important part of a body of work that changed the course of American literature.
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More “Fog” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Out Loud — Listen to Carl Sandburg reading "Fog."
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What Was the Chicago Literary Renaissance? — An introduction to the literary movement in which Sandburg played an important role.
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Who Was Carl Sandburg? — A short biography of the poet from the Academy of American Poets.
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Chicago Poems — The full text of Chicago Poems, the book in which "Fog" first appeared.
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An Interview with Carl Sandburg — An interview with the poet by NBC.
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