Oedipus at Colonus Old Age Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Line)

Quote #1

ANTIGONE. Rest your limbs here on the rough rock.

For you have been sent forth on a road that is long for an old man. (19-20)

Antigone’s invitation isn’t so attractive. Resting on a “rough rock” isn't really the nicest way to end a day of hiking. She recognizes that her father’s age affects his ability to move, and that he needs more rest because of it. The road she’s talking about is literal, the road they walk on, but also figurative: his difficult life. 

Quote #2

OEDIPUS. Pity this wretched phantom of a man,

Oedipus. For mine is not the form of old. (109-110)

Oedipus doesn’t feel like himself anymore, because the years have transformed him. He doesn’t even look like himself (his form is different) and compares himself to a phantom. This might be foreshadowing; he is about to die, after all. Old age is like a pre-death for Oedipus. 

Quote #3

ANTIGONE. Be silent. For here come some who are

Aged in years, watchmen of where you sit. (111-12)

Oedipus isn’t the only oldster in this play. The Chorus is also made up of old men, the “watchmen” of the grove. These guys are basically the old people who sit around all day and watch the world pass by. Their job is to protect the sacred field, and maybe their advanced age is a sign of all of their wisdom. They are the only ones in the play who act rationally, especially compared to Creon and Polyneices.