Passage II (Henry David Thoreau, 'Smoke', 1843)
Light-winged Smoke, Icarian bird,
Melting thy pinions in thy upward flight,
Lark without song, and messenger of dawn,
Circling above the hamlets as thy nest;
Or else, departing dream, and shadowy form
Of midnight vision, gathering up thy skirts;
By night star-veiling, and by day
Darkening the light and blotting out the sun;
Go thou my incense upward from this hearth,
And ask the gods to pardon this clear flame.
In the first line, 'Icarian bird' connotes:
Pick an option to check yourself, or open the answer below.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. pride
Explanation
Icarus flew too near the sun out of overreaching pride (hubris), and the smoke too 'melts its pinions' as it rises.
Note: Option 4 is annotated in the source ('or hubris/pride contextually'); the key gives option 2.