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

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

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

**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

Words each role speaks in each scene (scene: words). Scenes: 1.1 = Act 1, Scene 1; 1.2 = Act 1, Scene 2; 2.1 = Act 2, Scene 1; 2.2 = Act 2, Scene 2; 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; 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; 4.6 = Act 4, Scene 6; 4.7 = Act 4, Scene 7; 5.1 = Act 5, Scene 1.

- **King Edward**: 1.1 (594), 1.2 (247), 2.1 (1,801), 2.2 (931), 3.3 (662), 3.5 (481), 4.2 (319), 5.1 (757)
- **Prince Edward**: 1.1 (144), 2.2 (31), 3.3 (343), 3.5 (276), 4.4 (719), 4.6 (84), 4.7 (379), 5.1 (204)
- **King John**: 3.1 (699), 3.3 (432), 3.4 (33), 4.3 (145), 4.5 (606), 4.6 (127), 4.7 (8), 5.1 (27)
- **Countess**: 1.2 (585), 2.1 (693), 2.2 (405)
- **Warwick**: 1.1 (30), 1.2 (65), 2.1 (866)
- **Audley**: 1.1 (16), 2.2 (91), 3.3 (60), 3.5 (34), 4.4 (366), 4.6 (73), 4.7 (121)
- **Salisbury**: 4.1 (243), 4.5 (42), 5.1 (418)
- **Charles**: 3.1 (37), 3.3 (13), 4.3 (307), 4.5 (209), 4.6 (81)
- **Mariner**: 3.1 (495)
- **Artois**: 1.1 (287), 3.3 (69), 3.5 (41), 4.6 (51)

## 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 deeds;—” | 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 speak:” | 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.

## How we count

Counts are computed from the full text of the [Standard Ebooks edition](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/edward-iii) (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).