Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow:
SMOKE
Light – winged smoke! Icarian bird,
Melting thy pinions in thy upward flight:
Lark without song, and the 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 incence, upward from this hearth,
And ask the gods to pardon this clear flame,
Henry David Thoreau

Why does the poet seek pardon from the gods?

The correct option is: The speaker admits sin of setting the fire.

Step-by-step Explanation:
1. Analyzing the Poem's Context: In Henry David Thoreau's poem "Smoke", the narrator addresses the smoke rising from their hearth, describing its movement and appearance as it ascends. The smoke serves as a physical connection between the earthly hearth and the heavens.
2. Interpreting the Request for Pardon: In the final two lines of the poem, the narrator commands the smoke:
"Go thou, my incense, upward from this hearth,
And ask the gods to pardon this clear flame,"
Here, the smoke is treated as "incense," which is historically burned as an offering to appease or communicate with deities.
3. The Symbolism of the Fire: Asking the gods to "pardon this clear flame" suggests that lighting a fire is a form of transgression. In classical mythology, fire is a sacred element belonging to the gods (such as in the myth of Prometheus, who stole fire from the heavens). By establishing a fire on a domestic hearth, the speaker has taken a divine force for human use. Thus, seeking a pardon is a symbolic admission of the transgression or "sin" of setting the fire.
4. Conclusion: Therefore, the poet seeks pardon because the speaker admits the transgression or sin of setting the fire on their hearth.