# All’s Well That Ends Well: every role by lines, words, and stage time

> William Shakespeare. 22 speaking roles, 22,540 words, about 161 minutes of speech.

- URL: https://www.offbook.com/plays/alls-well-that-ends-well
- Last updated: 2026-10-08

**Helena** has the most to say in All’s Well That Ends Well: about 474 lines and 3,575 words, 15.9% of the play. Shakespeare’s comedy follows Helena, who cures the King and wins the right to marry Bertram, who then flees from her. Helena leads with about 16% of the words, but Parolles and the King are close behind. The King speaks in only 5 of 24 scenes: he is absent through Acts 3 and 4 and returns for the final scene and the Epilogue.

- Speaking roles: 22
- Scenes: 24
- Words: 22,540
- Speech time: 161 min

## Every role, largest first

| Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Helena | 474 | 3,575 | 15.9% | 25.5 | 12 |
| Parolles | 369 | 2,959 | 13.1% | 21.1 | 11 |
| King | 384 | 2,878 | 12.8% | 20.6 | 5 |
| Lafeu | 278 | 2,243 | 10% | 16.0 | 7 |
| Countess | 284 | 2,166 | 9.6% | 15.5 | 7 |
| Bertram | 273 | 2,039 | 9% | 14.6 | 10 |
| Clown | 196 | 1,660 | 7.4% | 11.9 | 6 |
| Second Lord | 145 | 1,149 | 5.1% | 8.2 | 7 |
| Diana | 137 | 1,013 | 4.5% | 7.2 | 4 |
| First Lord | 112 | 856 | 3.8% | 6.1 | 6 |
| First Soldier | 77 | 585 | 2.6% | 4.2 | 2 |
| Widow | 63 | 429 | 1.9% | 3.1 | 5 |
| Steward | 38 | 345 | 1.5% | 2.5 | 2 |
| Mariana | 19 | 172 | 0.8% | 1.2 | 1 |
| Gentleman | 22 | 129 | 0.6% | 0.9 | 2 |
| Duke | 19 | 124 | 0.6% | 0.9 | 2 |
| First Gentleman | 12 | 73 | 0.3% | 0.5 | 1 |
| Second Gentleman | 11 | 66 | 0.3% | 0.5 | 1 |
| Servant | 4 | 34 | 0.2% | 0.2 | 1 |
| Page | 1 | 7 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Second Soldier | 2 | 7 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Fourth Lord | 1 | 6 | 0% | 0.0 | 1 |

## Who speaks in which scene

Words each role speaks in each scene (scene: words). Scenes: 1.1 = Act 1, Scene 1; 1.2 = Act 1, Scene 2; 1.3 = Act 1, Scene 3; 2.1 = Act 2, Scene 1; 2.2 = Act 2, Scene 2; 2.3 = Act 2, Scene 3; 2.4 = Act 2, Scene 4; 2.5 = Act 2, Scene 5; 3.1 = Act 3, Scene 1; 3.2 = Act 3, Scene 2; 3.3 = Act 3, Scene 3; 3.4 = Act 3, Scene 4; 3.5 = Act 3, Scene 5; 3.6 = Act 3, Scene 6; 3.7 = Act 3, Scene 7; 4.1 = Act 4, Scene 1; 4.2 = Act 4, Scene 2; 4.3 = Act 4, Scene 3; 4.4 = Act 4, Scene 4; 4.5 = Act 4, Scene 5; 5.1 = Act 5, Scene 1; 5.2 = Act 5, Scene 2; 5.3 = Act 5, Scene 3; Epi = Epilogue.

- **Helena**: 1.1 (667), 1.3 (515), 2.1 (526), 2.3 (250), 2.4 (60), 2.5 (140), 3.2 (332), 3.5 (179), 3.7 (288), 4.4 (265), 5.1 (254), 5.3 (99)
- **Parolles**: 1.1 (485), 2.1 (176), 2.3 (477), 2.4 (169), 2.5 (39), 3.5 (4), 3.6 (129), 4.1 (321), 4.3 (879), 5.2 (128), 5.3 (152)
- **King**: 1.2 (503), 2.1 (575), 2.3 (591), 5.3 (1,157), Epi (52)
- **Lafeu**: 1.1 (185), 2.1 (257), 2.3 (741), 2.5 (251), 4.5 (388), 5.2 (171), 5.3 (250)
- **Countess**: 1.1 (332), 1.3 (788), 2.2 (231), 3.2 (356), 3.4 (207), 4.5 (144), 5.3 (108)
- **Bertram**: 1.1 (76), 1.2 (41), 2.1 (73), 2.3 (279), 2.5 (291), 3.3 (56), 3.6 (270), 4.2 (242), 4.3 (258), 5.3 (453)
- **Clown**: 1.3 (523), 2.2 (305), 2.4 (192), 3.2 (198), 4.5 (307), 5.2 (135)
- **Second Lord**: 1.2 (30), 2.1 (21), 2.3 (5), 3.1 (55), 3.6 (298), 4.1 (264), 4.3 (476)
- **Diana**: 3.5 (146), 4.2 (407), 4.4 (16), 5.3 (444)
- **First Lord**: 1.2 (28), 2.1 (37), 2.3 (3), 3.1 (36), 3.6 (261), 4.3 (491)
- **First Soldier**: 4.1 (95), 4.3 (490)

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Scene | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Helena: ““Till I have no wife, I have nothing in France.”” | Act 3, Scene 2 | 256 | 31 |
| Helena: “O, were that all! I think not on my father;” | Act 1, Scene 1 | 224 | 27 |
| King: “’Tis only title thou disdain’st in her, the which” | Act 2, Scene 3 | 220 | 28 |
| Helena: “Then, I confess,” | Act 1, Scene 3 | 214 | 27 |
| King: “I would I had that corporal soundness now,” | Act 1, Scene 2 | 199 | 25 |
| Countess: “Yes, Helen, you might be my daughter-in-law:” | Act 1, Scene 3 | 154 | 19 |
| King: “My honour’s at the stake; which to defeat,” | Act 2, Scene 3 | 147 | 18 |
| Steward: “Madam, I was very late more near her than I think she wished me: alone she was, and did communicate to herself her own words to her own ears; she thought, I dare vow for her, they touched not any stranger sense. Her matter was, she loved your son: Fortune, she said, was no goddess, that had put such difference betwixt their two estates; Love no god, that would not extend his might, only where qualities were level; Dian no queen of virgins, that would suffer her poor knight surprised, without rescue in the first assault or ransom afterward. This she delivered in the most bitter touch of sorrow that e’er I heard virgin exclaim in: which I held my duty speedily to acquaint you withal; sithence, in the loss that may happen, it concerns you something to know it.” | Act 1, Scene 3 | 140 | 14 |
| Countess: “What angel shall” | Act 3, Scene 4 | 140 | 18 |
| Clown: “You’re shallow, madam, in great friends; for the knaves come to do that for me which I am aweary of. He that ears my land spares my team and gives me leave to in the crop; if I be his cuckold, he’s my drudge: he that comforts my wife is the cherisher of my flesh and blood; he that cherishes my flesh and blood loves my flesh and blood; he that loves my flesh and blood is my friend: ergo, he that kisses my wife is my friend. If men could be contented to be what they are, there were no fear in marriage; for young Charbon the puritan and old Poysam the papist, howsome’er their hearts are severed in religion, their heads are both one; they may jowl horns together, like any deer i’ the herd.” | Act 1, Scene 3 | 137 | 14 |

## Small roles that can be doubled

These pairs of small roles never speak in the same scene, so one actor could play both. Check entrances and silent appearances in your script before you cast it this way.

- Diana and First Lord
- Diana and First Soldier
- Diana and Steward
- Diana and Duke
- Diana and First Gentleman
- Diana and Second Gentleman
- Diana and Servant
- Diana and Page
- Diana and Second Soldier
- Diana and Fourth Lord
- First Lord and Widow
- First Lord and Steward

## Questions actors ask

### Who has the most lines in All’s Well That Ends Well?

Helena, with about 474 lines and 3,575 words, 15.9% of everything spoken in the play. Parolles is next, with about 369 lines (13.1%).

### How long is All’s Well That Ends Well?

The full text has 22,540 spoken words, about 161 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 All’s Well That Ends Well?

22 named roles speak in this edition, across 24 scenes. 11 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/william-shakespeare/alls-well-that-ends-well) (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).