The story takes place in London, and gives a satiric depiction[1] of the aimless or self-absorbed cultural elite in the sad and turbulent times following the end of World War I.

A 1923 review opined that Antic Hay was "probably the most brilliant novel of the year" and summarized Huxley's theme as "contemporary civilization is damnable, and...the dark stream of Time is the only reality.

"[2] A 1961 scholarly journal article characterized the book's theme as "disunity, disorder and disorganization" whose characters "illustrate a disreputable world disintegrating into fragments.

Gumbril's quest for love occasionally makes him resort to utilizing "The Complete Man" which is a disguise he concocts around a false full beard.

[citation needed] The title is from the play Edward II by Christopher Marlowe, c1593, Act One, Scene One, lines 59-60: "My men, like satyrs grazing on the lawns, shall with their goat feet dance the antic hay", which is quoted on the frontispiece.