Hamlet: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 32 speaking roles, 29,557 words, about 211 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Hamlet has the most to say in Hamlet: about 1,485 lines and 11,570 words, 39.1% of the play. Hamlet is the longest role Shakespeare wrote, and the play leans on it like no other: the prince speaks in 13 of the 20 scenes and carries the soliloquies that audiences come for. The supporting roles are small by comparison, and many productions double them.

Speaking roles: 32
Scenes: 20
Words: 29,557
Speech time: 211 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Hamlet	1,485	11,570	39.1%	82.6	13
Claudius	548	4,081	13.8%	29.2	11
Polonius	348	2,657	9%	19.0	8
Horatio	288	2,032	6.9%	14.5	9
Laertes	207	1,438	4.9%	10.3	6
Ophelia	150	1,174	4%	8.4	5
Gertrude	157	1,052	3.6%	7.5	10
First Clown	91	734	2.5%	5.2	1
Rosencrantz	93	689	2.3%	4.9	7
Ghost	95	674	2.3%	4.8	2
Marcellus	60	404	1.4%	2.9	4
First Player	50	365	1.2%	2.6	2
Osric	48	358	1.2%	2.6	1
Player King	44	337	1.1%	2.4	1
Guildenstern	49	323	1.1%	2.3	5
Player Queen	30	238	0.8%	1.7	1
Bernardo	34	205	0.7%	1.5	1
Prince Fortinbras	27	187	0.6%	1.3	2
Gentleman	23	176	0.6%	1.3	1
Voltimand	21	149	0.5%	1.1	1
Second Clown	17	97	0.3%	0.7	1
First Priest	13	90	0.3%	0.6	1
Captain	12	84	0.3%	0.6	1
Lord	8	67	0.2%	0.5	1
Reynaldo	15	65	0.2%	0.5	1
Francisco	10	54	0.2%	0.4	1
First Ambassador	6	40	0.1%	0.3	1
Lucianus	6	40	0.1%	0.3	1
First Sailor	5	39	0.1%	0.3	1
Messenger	5	36	0.1%	0.3	1
Prologue	3	16	0.1%	0.1	1
Servant	1	9	0%	0.1	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	1.4	1.5	2.1	2.2	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.4	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.6	4.7	5.1	5.2
Hamlet
Claudius
Polonius
Horatio
Laertes
Ophelia
Gertrude
First Clown
Rosencrantz
Ghost

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Hamlet: “Ay, so, God be wi’ ye; Now I am alone.”	Act 2, Scene 2	460	60
Ghost: “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,”	Act 1, Scene 5	371	50
Claudius: “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death”	Act 1, Scene 2	299	39
Claudius: “Thanks, dear my lord.”	Act 3, Scene 3	299	38
Hamlet: “I’ll be with you straight. Go a little before.”	Act 4, Scene 4	287	36
Hamlet: “To be, or not to be: that is the question:”	Act 3, Scene 1	276	35
Hamlet: “Look here, upon this picture, and on this,”	Act 3, Scene 4	276	36
Laertes: “Think it no more:”	Act 1, Scene 3	274	35
Hamlet: “I heard thee speak me a speech once, but it wa…”	Act 2, Scene 2	266	31
Hamlet: “Nay, do not think I flatter;”	Act 3, Scene 2	261	32

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.

Laertes and Rosencrantz
Laertes and Ghost
Laertes and First Player
Laertes and Player King
Laertes and Guildenstern
Laertes and Player Queen
Laertes and Bernardo
Laertes and Voltimand
Laertes and Captain
Laertes and Reynaldo
Laertes and Francisco
Laertes and Lucianus

Roles and monologues in depth

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Hamlet?

Hamlet, with about 1,485 lines and 11,570 words, 39.1% of everything spoken in the play. Claudius is next, with about 548 lines (13.8%).

How long is Hamlet?

The full text has 29,557 spoken words, about 211 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 Hamlet?

32 named roles speak in this edition, across 20 scenes. 22 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.