As You Like It: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 27 speaking roles, 21,135 words, about 151 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Rosalind has the most to say in As You Like It: about 682 lines and 5,693 words, 26.9% of the play. Shakespeare’s comedy follows Rosalind, who flees to the Forest of Arden disguised as a young man. Rosalind holds more than a quarter of the words, more than twice anyone else, and she speaks the Epilogue. Orlando and Touchstone are almost exactly tied for second, with Celia just behind.

Speaking roles: 27
Scenes: 23
Words: 21,135
Speech time: 151 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Rosalind	682	5,693	26.9%	40.7	11
Orlando	303	2,375	11.2%	17.0	9
Touchstone	270	2,374	11.2%	17.0	7
Celia	263	2,105	10%	15.0	7
Jaques	215	1,730	8.2%	12.4	7
Oliver	146	1,162	5.5%	8.3	4
Duke Senior	109	816	3.9%	5.8	3
Phebe	87	696	3.3%	5.0	3
Corin	69	550	2.6%	3.9	4
Silvius	76	539	2.6%	3.9	5
Duke Frederick	69	529	2.5%	3.8	4
Adam	65	513	2.4%	3.7	4
Charles	41	375	1.8%	2.7	2
Le Beau	46	371	1.8%	2.7	1
First Lord	46	348	1.6%	2.5	3
Amiens	46	252	1.2%	1.8	3
Audrey	21	149	0.7%	1.1	3
Hymen	24	133	0.6%	1.0	1
Jaques de Boys	17	128	0.6%	0.9	1
Second Lord	11	74	0.4%	0.5	2
Forester	10	62	0.3%	0.4	1
William	11	44	0.2%	0.3	1
First Page	6	39	0.2%	0.3	1
Sir Oliver Martext	5	36	0.2%	0.3	1
Second Page	3	21	0.1%	0.2	1
Dennis	3	17	0.1%	0.1	1
A Lord	1	4	0%	0.0	1

Who speaks in which scene

Darker cells mean more words in that scene. Use it to plan rehearsal calls, or to see how long an actor waits between entrances.

Role	1.1	1.2	1.3	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.5	2.6	2.7	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.5	4.1	4.2	4.3	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.4	Epi
Rosalind
Orlando
Touchstone
Celia
Jaques
Oliver
Duke Senior
Phebe
Corin
Silvius
Duke Frederick
Adam

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Rosalind: “And why, I pray you? Who might be your mother,”	Act 3, Scene 5	252	29
Phebe: “Think not I love him, though I ask for him:”	Act 3, Scene 5	244	27
Orlando: “As I remember, Adam, it was upon this fashion …”	Act 1, Scene 1	234	24
Rosalind: “It is not the fashion to see the lady the epil…”	Epilogue	227	23
Jaques: “All the world’s a stage,”	Act 2, Scene 7	212	28
Oliver: “Charles, I thank thee for thy love to me, whic…”	Act 1, Scene 1	195	20
Jaques: “A fool, a fool! I met a fool i’ the forest,”	Act 2, Scene 7	194	23
Touchstone: “Amen. A man may, if he were of a fearful heart…”	Act 3, Scene 3	179	18
Rosalind: “I will weary you then no longer with idle talk…”	Act 5, Scene 2	175	18
Oliver: “When last the young Orlando parted from you”	Act 4, Scene 3	174	23

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.

Duke Senior and Corin
Duke Senior and Duke Frederick
Duke Senior and Charles
Duke Senior and Le Beau
Duke Senior and Audrey
Duke Senior and Forester
Duke Senior and William
Duke Senior and First Page
Duke Senior and Sir Oliver Martext
Duke Senior and Second Page
Duke Senior and Dennis
Duke Senior and A Lord

Roles and monologues in depth

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in As You Like It?

Rosalind, with about 682 lines and 5,693 words, 26.9% of everything spoken in the play. Orlando is next, with about 303 lines (11.2%).

How long is As You Like It?

The full text has 21,135 spoken words, about 151 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 As You Like It?

27 named roles speak in this edition, across 23 scenes. 15 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.