Edward III: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 38 speaking roles, 19,294 words, about 138 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

King Edward has the most to say in Edward III: about 748 lines and 5,792 words, 30% of the play. Edward III follows the English king from his pursuit of the Countess to his wars in France. King Edward carries about 30% of the words, but he speaks in only one scene of Act 4. The Countess’s whole part sits in three scenes in Acts 1 and 2, while Prince Edward and King John are almost equal in size and drive the battle scenes of the last two acts.

Speaking roles: 38
Scenes: 17
Words: 19,294
Speech time: 138 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
King Edward	748	5,792	30%	41.4	8
Prince Edward	282	2,180	11.3%	15.6	8
King John	270	2,077	10.8%	14.8	8
Countess	214	1,683	8.7%	12.0	3
Warwick	121	961	5%	6.9	3
Audley	97	761	3.9%	5.4	7
Salisbury	92	703	3.6%	5.0	3
Charles	85	647	3.4%	4.6	5
Mariner	66	495	2.6%	3.5	1
Artois	59	448	2.3%	3.2	4
Lodwick	46	324	1.7%	2.3	2
Derby	44	320	1.7%	2.3	5
Lorraine	39	291	1.5%	2.1	4
Herald	36	267	1.4%	1.9	2
King David	33	256	1.3%	1.8	1
Villiers	31	243	1.3%	1.7	2
Philip	32	232	1.2%	1.7	4
Fourth Frenchman	31	224	1.2%	1.6	1
Second Frenchman	21	164	0.9%	1.2	1
First Frenchman	22	161	0.8%	1.2	2
Queen	17	135	0.7%	1.0	1
Percy	18	133	0.7%	1.0	1
Copland	17	132	0.7%	0.9	1
Captain	16	126	0.7%	0.9	2
Mountague	13	96	0.5%	0.7	2
Messenger	9	69	0.4%	0.5	1
Mountford	9	65	0.3%	0.5	1
Woman	8	60	0.3%	0.4	1
First Citizen	7	51	0.3%	0.4	1
Second Citizen	5	40	0.2%	0.3	1
Douglas	4	34	0.2%	0.2	1
Pole	4	30	0.2%	0.2	1
Third Frenchman	3	24	0.1%	0.2	1
King of Bohemia	3	23	0.1%	0.2	1
Gobin	2	11	0.1%	0.1	1
Frenchmen	1	9	0%	0.1	1
Second Esquire	1	9	0%	0.1	1
First Esquire	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	2.1	2.2	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.5	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.6	4.7	5.1
King Edward
Prince Edward
King John
Countess
Warwick
Audley
Salisbury
Charles
Mariner
Artois

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Salisbury: “He was, my lord: and as my worthless self,”	Act 5, Scene 1	367	48
Mariner: “I will, my lord.”	Act 3, Scene 1	329	44
Warwick: “How shall I enter in this arrant errand?”	Act 2, Scene 1	310	39
Artois: “She was, my lord; and only Isabel”	Act 1, Scene 1	236	31
Prince Edward: “Death’s name is much more mighty than his deed…”	Act 4, Scene 4	227	27
Audley: “This sudden, mighty and expedient head,”	Act 4, Scene 4	226	30
Fourth Frenchman: “Fly, countrymen and citizens of France!”	Act 3, Scene 2	224	31
Countess: “But that your lips were sacred, my lord,”	Act 2, Scene 1	217	28
Warwick: “Why, now thou speak’st as I would have thee sp…”	Act 2, Scene 1	212	28
King Edward: “Of such estate, that hers is as a throne,”	Act 2, Scene 1	211	29

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.

Audley and Salisbury
Audley and Mariner
Audley and King David
Audley and Villiers
Audley and Fourth Frenchman
Audley and Second Frenchman
Audley and First Frenchman
Audley and Queen
Audley and Percy
Audley and Copland
Audley and Captain
Audley and Messenger

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Edward III?

King Edward, with about 748 lines and 5,792 words, 30% of everything spoken in the play. Prince Edward is next, with about 282 lines (11.3%).

How long is Edward III?

The full text has 19,294 spoken words, about 138 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 Edward III?

38 named roles speak in this edition, across 17 scenes. 28 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.