Like the even older Anglo-Saxon riddles (which may well have influenced them), these poems have an archaic power. The lines about the rooster make me shiver also. I think it might be because such riddles tap into a root of poetry itself, the power to make ordinary things portentous. Once the solution is found, the answer enhances the mystery of the puzzle rather than diminishing it, as happens in a typical contemporary riddle--so all the power of the previous not-knowing accrues to the rooster, making him even more mysterious and resonant a symbol than he was earlier.

Yes! "all the power of the previous not-knowing" seems just right to me. Experiencing a great play or novel or poem or movie over and over again may be related to that insight. The power of the previous not-knowing, along with the power of the previous readings, makes it possible to experience Middlemarch or King Lear of the Odyssey or Sullivan's Travels many times, with the surprises and revelations working every time-- and differently every time! Thank you, Annie.