The Cock by Hens attended,
His Eyes around him throwing,
Stands for a while suspended:
Then One he singles from the Crew,
And cheers the happy Hen;
With how do you do, and how do you do,
And how do you do again." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
Act II, sc. iv, air 23
“

Before the Barn-Door crowing,
The Cock by Hens attended,
His Eyes around him throwing,
Stands for a while suspended:
Then One he singles from the Crew,
And cheers the happy Hen;
With how do you do, and how do you do,
And how do you do again.

— John Gay

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Before the Barn-Door crowing,
The Cock by Hens attended,
His Eyes around him throwing,
Stands for a while suspended:
Then One he singles from the Crew,
And cheers the happy Hen;
With how do you do, and how do you do,
And how do you do again." in the context of "Act II, sc. iv, air 23" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "John Gay" (Quotes, The Beggar's Opera (1728): Full text online at University of Oxford Text Archive ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

Tags

#John Gay#suspended#barndoor#attended#throwing#crowing#singles#before#around#stands#cheers#while
John Gay

About John Gay

John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera (1728), set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peachum, became household names.