Essay Questions

How does the poet use personification?

The fox that the speaker meets is personified because it is given the ability to talk and understand what she is saying. For instance, when the speaker greets the fox, she is surprised to hear him respond. Initially, the speaker expected the fox to run away, but to her surprise, he stayed there and was ready to talk with her. Therefore, the poet has managed to personify the fox to behave like a human being.

Why does the fox not run away when the speaker approaches him?

When the speaker asks the fox why he is not running away, he says he knows she is pro-fox because he heard other foxes say she is friendly. Long ago, when the speaker was having a conversation with other people about foxhunting, the foxes heard the speaker arguing that hunting foxes is wrong, and they should be left to interact freely with people. Therefore, from that day, news spread in the community of foxes that the speaker is friendly and loves foxes. Therefore, when the fox under the tree saw the speaker, he was not scared because he knew that the speaker was friendly.

What is the primary paradox in the poem?

The primary paradox occurs when the fox tells the speaker she was in her books because she is pro-fox. The speaker is astonished when she learns that the fox has books, and when she inquires, she is shocked that the fox is right. The paradox in this context is significant because it signifies the ability of the foxes to record human behavior in their minds, and the mentioned book is symbolic of the ability of foxes to record information.