Literary notes about Cock (AI summary)
The word "cock" is used in literature in a range of ways that underscore its rich symbolic and literal resonances. At times, it refers simply to a rooster whose crow signals the break of day and forms part of pastoral and ritual imagery ([1], [2], [3]); in other instances, it embodies traits of pride, masculinity, and overconfidence, as in idiomatic expressions that portray a character as being notably assertive or "cock-sure" ([4], [5]). Beyond these figurative uses, authors have employed the term to capture cultural practices—whether highlighting the tradition of cock-fighting or the decorative significance of a cock's comb and feathers ([6], [7])—or to infuse a narrative with bawdy, risqué connotations ([8], [9]). This multiplicity of meanings has allowed the term to traverse genres and eras, enriching texts with layers of symbolism and social commentary.
- When on my goodly charger borne Thro' dreaming towns I go, The cock crows ere the Christmas morn, The streets are dumb with snow.
— from The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson by Baron Alfred Tennyson Tennyson - With the first glimmer of dawn the Cock awoke.
— from The Aesop for Children by Aesop - It was the red cock shouting to the light, exactly the (Until the cock shouted ).
— from The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson by Baron Alfred Tennyson Tennyson - “Yes, some of us are a little too much inclined to be cock-sure, Mr. Holmes,” said Lestrade.
— from The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - He's cock of the school, and head of the School-house side, and the best kick and charger in Rugby.”
— from Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes - Most of the cock-fighters presented themselves at the Golongan or cock-pit with a game-cock under each arm.
— from Malay Magic by Walter William Skeat - Upon his head he clapped a steel cap, and this he covered by one of soft white leather, in which stood a nodding cock's plume.
— from The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle - He knelt behind me, and spitting on his cock, presented it at my bum-hole, and pressing gently forward, soon sheathed it to the utmost depth.
— from The Romance of Lust: A classic Victorian erotic novel by Anonymous - She grew to like to see us do it, and used to play with my big cock, and bring him up to the scratch.
— from The Romance of Lust: A classic Victorian erotic novel by Anonymous
