# Ajax: every role by lines, words, and stage time

> Sophocles, translated by Francis Storr. 11 speaking roles, 10,909 words, about 78 minutes of speech.

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

**Ajax** has the most to say in Ajax: about 297 lines and 2,282 words, 20.9% of the play. Sophocles’ tragedy follows the warrior Ajax after he loses Achilles’ armor to Odysseus and his rage turns to madness. Ajax has the most words, about a fifth, with the Chorus close behind. Teucer and Tecmessa each hold about a sixth, and Teucer leads the long struggle over Ajax’s burial.

- Speaking roles: 11
- Scenes: Continuous
- Words: 10,909
- Speech time: 78 min

## Every role, largest first

| Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ajax | 297 | 2,282 | 20.9% | 16.3 | 1 |
| Chorus | 317 | 2,141 | 19.6% | 15.3 | 1 |
| Teucer | 231 | 1,811 | 16.6% | 12.9 | 1 |
| Tecmessa | 219 | 1,722 | 15.8% | 12.3 | 1 |
| Odysseus | 86 | 690 | 6.3% | 4.9 | 1 |
| Athena | 76 | 620 | 5.7% | 4.4 | 1 |
| Menelaus | 66 | 551 | 5.1% | 3.9 | 1 |
| Messenger | 67 | 519 | 4.8% | 3.7 | 1 |
| Agamemnon | 62 | 498 | 4.6% | 3.6 | 1 |
| Semi-Chorus 1 | 8 | 53 | 0.5% | 0.4 | 1 |
| Semi-Chorus 2 | 3 | 22 | 0.2% | 0.2 | 1 |

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ajax: “Ay me! Whoe’er had thought how well my name” | 443 | 56 |
| Chorus: “Son of Telamon, thou whose isle,” | 442 | 71 |
| Ajax: “The slayer standeth where his stroke is sure—” | 419 | 52 |
| Teucer: “Out on man’s gratitude! how soon it fades,” | 416 | 53 |
| Ajax: “Time in its slow, illimitable course” | 401 | 50 |
| Teucer: “O saddest sight of all I ever saw,” | 393 | 48 |
| Tecmessa: “Hear then the story of our common woe.” | 389 | 49 |
| Ajax: “Lift him, O lift him to my arms; no dread,” | 342 | 40 |
| Menelaus: “Hear then. We thought to bring from Salamis” | 341 | 41 |
| Tecmessa: “Ah, my lord Ajax, heavier lot is none” | 333 | 40 |

## Questions actors ask

### Who has the most lines in Ajax?

Ajax, with about 297 lines and 2,282 words, 20.9% of everything spoken in the play. Chorus is next, with about 317 lines (19.6%).

### How long is Ajax?

The full text has 10,909 spoken words, about 78 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

### How many speaking roles are in Ajax?

11 named roles speak in this edition, in one continuous text with no scene breaks. 2 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.

## How we count

Counts are computed from the full text of the [Standard Ebooks edition](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/sophocles/ajax/francis-storr) (public domain; retrieved 2026-10-08). Words are every spoken word, with stage directions removed. Lines are verse lines as printed, plus prose at 10 words a line, because prose has no fixed line breaks; editions differ, so other sources give slightly different line counts. Time is words at 140 words a minute, before pauses and stage business. A role is counted in a scene when it speaks there. To count a script that is not in the library, paste it into the [script line counter](https://www.offbook.com/tools/script-line-counter).