How many lines does Jaques have in As You Like It?

The size of the part, every scene it speaks in, its longest speeches, and how long it takes to learn.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Jaques has about 215 lines in As You Like It: 1,730 words in 57 speeches, 8.2% of the play, and the 5th-largest part. The role speaks in 7 of the 23 scenes, and its longest wait is 4 scenes in a row without a line.

Jaques does not speak until Act 2, Scene 5, and nearly half his words fall in the next scene, Act 2, Scene 7, which holds his account of meeting a fool in the forest and “All the world’s a stage.” The part mixes verse and prose. In the final scene he turns away from the celebrations to join the newly religious Duke Frederick.

Lines: 215
Words: 1,730
Share of play: 8.2%
Speech time: 12 min

52% of the words are verse. 57 speeches means about 57 cues to learn.

Scene by scene

Scene	Words	Minutes
Act 2, Scene 5	244	1.7
Act 2, Scene 7	800	5.7
Act 3, Scene 2	149	1.1
Act 3, Scene 3	97	0.7
Act 4, Scene 1	130	0.9
Act 4, Scene 2	58	0.4
Act 5, Scene 4	252	1.8

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words
“All the world’s a stage,”	Act 2, Scene 7	212
“A fool, a fool! I met a fool i’ the forest,”	Act 2, Scene 7	194
“Why, who cries out on pride,”	Act 2, Scene 7	149
“It is my only suit;”	Act 2, Scene 7	144
“To him will I: out of these convertites”	Act 5, Scene 4	84
“I have neither the scholar’s melancholy, which is …”	Act 4, Scene 1	82
“O worthy fool! One that hath been a courtier,”	Act 2, Scene 7	67
“And will you, being a man of your breeding, be mar…”	Act 3, Scene 3	59

How many lines a day to learn

New lines a day to be off book in time, learning five days a week. Review what you already know on the other days.

Time until off book	New lines a day
2 weeks	22
3 weeks	15
4 weeks	11
6 weeks	8

Questions actors ask