# How big is your part? The play library

> Line counts, word counts, and stage time for every role, computed from the full text of each play.

- URL: https://www.offbook.com/plays
- Last updated: 2026-10-08

Cast lists rarely say how much there is to learn. These pages count it: every speaking role, its lines and words, its share of the play, the scenes it speaks in, and its longest speeches, so you can plan rehearsal before the first read-through.

## William Shakespeare

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [All’s Well That Ends Well](https://www.offbook.com/plays/alls-well-that-ends-well) | 22 | 22,540 | Helena (15.9%) |
| [Antony and Cleopatra](https://www.offbook.com/plays/antony-and-cleopatra) | 52 | 23,669 | Antony (25.1%) |
| [As You Like It](https://www.offbook.com/plays/as-you-like-it) | 27 | 21,135 | Rosalind (26.9%) |
| [The Comedy of Errors](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors) | 19 | 14,351 | Adriana (14.6%) |
| [Coriolanus](https://www.offbook.com/plays/coriolanus) | 54 | 26,546 | Coriolanus (24.2%) |
| [Cymbeline](https://www.offbook.com/plays/cymbeline) | 37 | 26,704 | Imogen (16.4%) |
| [Edward III](https://www.offbook.com/plays/edward-iii) | 38 | 19,294 | King Edward (30%) |
| [Hamlet](https://www.offbook.com/plays/hamlet) | 32 | 29,557 | Hamlet (39.1%) |
| [Henry IV, Part I](https://www.offbook.com/plays/henry-iv-part-i) | 35 | 23,913 | Falstaff (23%) |
| [Henry IV, Part II](https://www.offbook.com/plays/henry-iv-part-ii) | 48 | 25,392 | Falstaff (21.6%) |
| [Henry V](https://www.offbook.com/plays/henry-v) | 45 | 25,596 | King Henry (32.6%) |
| [Henry VI, Part I](https://www.offbook.com/plays/henry-vi-part-i) | 55 | 20,511 | Talbot (15.2%) |
| [Henry VI, Part II](https://www.offbook.com/plays/henry-vi-part-ii) | 63 | 24,416 | York (12.2%) |
| [Henry VI, Part III](https://www.offbook.com/plays/henry-vi-part-iii) | 42 | 23,286 | Edward (15%) |
| [Henry VIII](https://www.offbook.com/plays/henry-viii) | 43 | 22,840 | King (14.7%) |
| [Julius Caesar](https://www.offbook.com/plays/julius-caesar) | 47 | 19,083 | Brutus (28.3%) |
| [King John](https://www.offbook.com/plays/king-john) | 27 | 20,385 | Bastard (20%) |
| [King Lear](https://www.offbook.com/plays/king-lear) | 25 | 25,243 | King Lear (22.3%) |
| [Love’s Labour’s Lost](https://www.offbook.com/plays/loves-labours-lost) | 19 | 21,030 | Biron (22.8%) |
| [Macbeth](https://www.offbook.com/plays/macbeth) | 37 | 16,424 | Macbeth (32.2%) |
| [Measure for Measure](https://www.offbook.com/plays/measure-for-measure) | 23 | 21,225 | Duke (30.8%) |
| [The Merchant of Venice](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-merchant-of-venice) | 22 | 20,855 | Portia (22.1%) |
| [The Merry Wives of Windsor](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-merry-wives-of-windsor) | 23 | 21,778 | Falstaff (17.3%) |
| [A Midsummer Night’s Dream](https://www.offbook.com/plays/a-midsummer-nights-dream) | 22 | 15,992 | Bottom (12.7%) |
| [Much Ado About Nothing](https://www.offbook.com/plays/much-ado-about-nothing) | 23 | 20,707 | Benedick (18%) |
| [Othello](https://www.offbook.com/plays/othello) | 26 | 25,835 | Iago (32.6%) |
| [Pericles](https://www.offbook.com/plays/pericles) | 44 | 17,456 | Pericles (26.2%) |
| [Richard II](https://www.offbook.com/plays/richard-ii) | 33 | 21,800 | King Richard (27.5%) |
| [Richard III](https://www.offbook.com/plays/richard-iii) | 54 | 28,333 | Richard (31.5%) |
| [Romeo and Juliet](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet) | 34 | 23,798 | Romeo (19.6%) |
| [The Taming of the Shrew](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-taming-of-the-shrew) | 36 | 20,396 | Petruchio (22.6%) |
| [The Tempest](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest) | 19 | 15,827 | Prospero (30.3%) |
| [Timon of Athens](https://www.offbook.com/plays/timon-of-athens) | 56 | 17,735 | Timon (35.7%) |
| [Titus Andronicus](https://www.offbook.com/plays/titus-andronicus) | 25 | 19,808 | Titus (28.9%) |
| [Troilus and Cressida](https://www.offbook.com/plays/troilus-and-cressida) | 27 | 25,263 | Troilus (15.6%) |
| [Twelfth Night](https://www.offbook.com/plays/twelfth-night) | 18 | 19,416 | Sir Toby (13.8%) |
| [The Two Gentlemen of Verona](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-two-gentlemen-of-verona) | 17 | 16,784 | Proteus (19.4%) |
| [The Winter’s Tale](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-winters-tale) | 34 | 24,533 | Leontes (19.8%) |

## Anton Chekhov

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [The Cherry Orchard](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-cherry-orchard) | 19 | 13,486 | Lopahin (19.2%) |
| [The Seagull](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-seagull) | 12 | 15,221 | Treplev (19.4%) |
| [Three Sisters](https://www.offbook.com/plays/three-sisters) | 16 | 17,351 | Vershinin (14.1%) |
| [Uncle Vanya](https://www.offbook.com/plays/uncle-vanya) | 10 | 13,913 | Astrov (28.3%) |

## William Congreve

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [The Way of the World](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-way-of-the-world) | 17 | 25,194 | Mirabell (16%) |

## John Gay

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [The Beggar’s Opera](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-beggars-opera) | 28 | 14,922 | Peachum (20.4%) |

## Oliver Goldsmith

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [She Stoops to Conquer](https://www.offbook.com/plays/she-stoops-to-conquer) | 22 | 20,313 | Marlow (19.8%) |

## Henrik Ibsen

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [A Doll’s House](https://www.offbook.com/plays/a-dolls-house) | 10 | 22,149 | Nora (44.9%) |
| [Ghosts](https://www.offbook.com/plays/ghosts) | 5 | 17,715 | Mrs. Alving (29.3%) |

## Ben Jonson

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [The Alchemist](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-alchemist) | 21 | 26,219 | Face (31.3%) |

## Christopher Marlowe

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Edward II](https://www.offbook.com/plays/edward-ii) | 47 | 20,464 | King Edward (27.5%) |
| [The Jew of Malta](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-jew-of-malta) | 33 | 17,955 | Barabas (47.7%) |
| [The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tragical-history-of-doctor-faustus) | 33 | 11,141 | Faustus (46.3%) |

## Molière

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Tartuffe](https://www.offbook.com/plays/tartuffe) | 11 | 15,918 | Dorine (18.1%) |

## Luigi Pirandello

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Six Characters in Search of an Author](https://www.offbook.com/plays/six-characters-in-search-of-an-author) | 24 | 14,567 | The Father (37.4%) |

## George Bernard Shaw

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Arms and the Man](https://www.offbook.com/plays/arms-and-the-man) | 10 | 14,528 | Bluntschli (25.7%) |
| [Pygmalion](https://www.offbook.com/plays/pygmalion) | 16 | 19,299 | Higgins (35.5%) |
| [Saint Joan](https://www.offbook.com/plays/saint-joan) | 33 | 29,687 | Joan (21.9%) |

## Richard Brinsley Sheridan

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [The School for Scandal](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-school-for-scandal) | 20 | 24,495 | Sir Peter (17.9%) |

## Sophocles

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Antigone](https://www.offbook.com/plays/antigone) | 10 | 9,734 | Creon (26.3%) |
| [Electra](https://www.offbook.com/plays/electra) | 7 | 11,147 | Electra (43.3%) |
| [Oedipus Rex](https://www.offbook.com/plays/oedipus-rex) | 9 | 12,041 | Oedipus (45.1%) |

## J. M. Synge

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [The Playboy of the Western World](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-playboy-of-the-western-world) | 19 | 15,902 | Christy (26.8%) |

## John Webster

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [The Duchess of Malfi](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-duchess-of-malfi) | 32 | 23,009 | Bosola (25.1%) |

## Oscar Wilde

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [An Ideal Husband](https://www.offbook.com/plays/an-ideal-husband) | 15 | 24,328 | Lord Goring (25%) |
| [The Importance of Being Earnest](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-importance-of-being-earnest) | 9 | 17,746 | Jack (22.4%) |
| [Lady Windermere’s Fan](https://www.offbook.com/plays/lady-windermeres-fan) | 16 | 15,938 | Lady Windermere (23.8%) |

## William Wycherley

| Play | Roles | Words | Largest role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [The Country Wife](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-country-wife) | 17 | 29,126 | Horner (20.1%) |

## Roles actors ask about

- [Hamlet](https://www.offbook.com/plays/hamlet/hamlet) (Hamlet)
- [Ophelia](https://www.offbook.com/plays/hamlet/ophelia) (Hamlet)
- [Romeo](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet/romeo) (Romeo and Juliet)
- [Juliet](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet/juliet) (Romeo and Juliet)
- [Mercutio](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet/mercutio) (Romeo and Juliet)
- [Tybalt](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet/tybalt) (Romeo and Juliet)
- [Macbeth](https://www.offbook.com/plays/macbeth/macbeth) (Macbeth)
- [Lady Macbeth](https://www.offbook.com/plays/macbeth/lady-macbeth) (Macbeth)
- [Banquo](https://www.offbook.com/plays/macbeth/banquo) (Macbeth)
- [Puck](https://www.offbook.com/plays/a-midsummer-nights-dream/puck) (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
- [Bottom](https://www.offbook.com/plays/a-midsummer-nights-dream/bottom) (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
- [Helena](https://www.offbook.com/plays/a-midsummer-nights-dream/helena) (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
- [Viola](https://www.offbook.com/plays/twelfth-night/viola) (Twelfth Night)
- [Malvolio](https://www.offbook.com/plays/twelfth-night/malvolio) (Twelfth Night)
- [Lady Bracknell](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-importance-of-being-earnest/lady-bracknell) (The Importance of Being Earnest)
- [Creon](https://www.offbook.com/plays/antigone/creon) (Antigone)
- [Antigone](https://www.offbook.com/plays/antigone/antigone) (Antigone)
- [Cleopatra](https://www.offbook.com/plays/antony-and-cleopatra/cleopatra) (Antony and Cleopatra)
- [Rosalind](https://www.offbook.com/plays/as-you-like-it/rosalind) (As You Like It)
- [Touchstone](https://www.offbook.com/plays/as-you-like-it/touchstone) (As You Like It)
- [Celia](https://www.offbook.com/plays/as-you-like-it/celia) (As You Like It)
- [Jaques](https://www.offbook.com/plays/as-you-like-it/jaques) (As You Like It)
- [Coriolanus](https://www.offbook.com/plays/coriolanus/coriolanus) (Coriolanus)
- [Falstaff](https://www.offbook.com/plays/henry-iv-part-i/falstaff) (Henry IV, Part I)
- [Brutus](https://www.offbook.com/plays/julius-caesar/brutus) (Julius Caesar)
- [Cassius](https://www.offbook.com/plays/julius-caesar/cassius) (Julius Caesar)
- [Antony](https://www.offbook.com/plays/julius-caesar/antony) (Julius Caesar)
- [King Lear](https://www.offbook.com/plays/king-lear/king-lear) (King Lear)
- [Edgar](https://www.offbook.com/plays/king-lear/edgar) (King Lear)
- [Kent](https://www.offbook.com/plays/king-lear/kent) (King Lear)
- [Cordelia](https://www.offbook.com/plays/king-lear/cordelia) (King Lear)
- [Goneril](https://www.offbook.com/plays/king-lear/goneril) (King Lear)
- [Angelo](https://www.offbook.com/plays/measure-for-measure/angelo) (Measure for Measure)
- [Benedick](https://www.offbook.com/plays/much-ado-about-nothing/benedick) (Much Ado About Nothing)
- [Beatrice](https://www.offbook.com/plays/much-ado-about-nothing/beatrice) (Much Ado About Nothing)
- [Leonato](https://www.offbook.com/plays/much-ado-about-nothing/leonato) (Much Ado About Nothing)
- [Don Pedro](https://www.offbook.com/plays/much-ado-about-nothing/don-pedro) (Much Ado About Nothing)
- [Dogberry](https://www.offbook.com/plays/much-ado-about-nothing/dogberry) (Much Ado About Nothing)
- [Othello](https://www.offbook.com/plays/othello/othello) (Othello)
- [Iago](https://www.offbook.com/plays/othello/iago) (Othello)
- [Desdemona](https://www.offbook.com/plays/othello/desdemona) (Othello)
- [Cassio](https://www.offbook.com/plays/othello/cassio) (Othello)
- [Adriana](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors/adriana) (The Comedy of Errors)
- [Antipholus of Syracuse](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors/antipholus-of-syracuse) (The Comedy of Errors)
- [Dromio of Syracuse](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors/dromio-of-syracuse) (The Comedy of Errors)
- [Antipholus of Ephesus](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors/antipholus-of-ephesus) (The Comedy of Errors)
- [Mistress Quickly](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-merry-wives-of-windsor/mistress-quickly) (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
- [Shylock](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-merchant-of-venice/shylock) (The Merchant of Venice)
- [Portia](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-merchant-of-venice/portia) (The Merchant of Venice)
- [Petruchio](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-taming-of-the-shrew/petruchio) (The Taming of the Shrew)
- [Katharina](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-taming-of-the-shrew/katharina) (The Taming of the Shrew)
- [Tranio](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-taming-of-the-shrew/tranio) (The Taming of the Shrew)
- [Hortensio](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-taming-of-the-shrew/hortensio) (The Taming of the Shrew)
- [Prospero](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest/prospero) (The Tempest)
- [Caliban](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest/caliban) (The Tempest)
- [Gonzalo](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest/gonzalo) (The Tempest)
- [Miranda](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest/miranda) (The Tempest)

Looking for a speech to perform? [Classical monologues with run times](https://www.offbook.com/monologues).