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

The word ‘lark’ in the third line means______

The correct option is Skylark.

Step-by-step Explanation:

1. In the third line of Henry David Thoreau's poem "Smoke", the speaker describes the smoke as a "Lark without song, and the messenger of dawn".

2. A "lark" (specifically a skylark) is a type of songbird known for singing while flying high in the air, often early in the morning (hence "messenger of dawn").

3. By calling the smoke a "lark without song," the poet is using a metaphor to describe the smoke rising high into the morning sky like a skylark, but doing so silently (without song).

4. Therefore, in this context, the word "lark" refers to the bird, which is a Skylark, rather than the informal verbs or nouns meaning laugh, escape, or giggle.