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

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

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

**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](https://www.offbook.com/plays/hamlet/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](https://www.offbook.com/plays/hamlet/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

Words each role speaks in each scene (scene: words). Scenes: 1.1 = Act 1, Scene 1; 1.2 = Act 1, Scene 2; 1.3 = Act 1, Scene 3; 1.4 = Act 1, Scene 4; 1.5 = Act 1, Scene 5; 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; 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; 5.2 = Act 5, Scene 2.

- **Hamlet**: 1.2 (761), 1.4 (495), 1.5 (688), 2.2 (2,245), 3.1 (642), 3.2 (1,778), 3.3 (194), 3.4 (1,344), 4.2 (156), 4.3 (193), 4.4 (364), 5.1 (1,030), 5.2 (1,680)
- **Claudius**: 1.2 (724), 2.2 (281), 3.1 (286), 3.2 (38), 3.3 (387), 4.1 (265), 4.3 (310), 4.5 (457), 4.7 (1,069), 5.1 (62), 5.2 (202)
- **Polonius**: 1.2 (33), 1.3 (548), 2.1 (649), 2.2 (1,048), 3.1 (177), 3.2 (75), 3.3 (73), 3.4 (54)
- **Horatio**: 1.1 (736), 1.2 (346), 1.4 (171), 1.5 (77), 3.2 (48), 4.5 (15), 4.6 (236), 5.1 (53), 5.2 (350)
- **Laertes**: 1.2 (51), 1.3 (386), 4.5 (334), 4.7 (322), 5.1 (113), 5.2 (232)
- **Ophelia**: 1.3 (141), 2.1 (231), 3.1 (226), 3.2 (90), 4.5 (486)
- **Gertrude**: 1.2 (75), 2.2 (139), 3.1 (53), 3.2 (19), 3.4 (303), 4.1 (91), 4.5 (92), 4.7 (153), 5.1 (74), 5.2 (53)
- **First Clown**: 5.1 (734)
- **Rosencrantz**: 2.2 (319), 3.1 (88), 3.2 (87), 3.3 (103), 4.2 (59), 4.3 (27), 4.4 (6)
- **Ghost**: 1.5 (636), 3.4 (38)

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Scene | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Hamlet: “Ay, so, God be wi’ ye; Now I am alone.”](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/o-what-a-rogue-and-peasant-slave) | 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:”](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/to-be-or-not-to-be) | 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 was never acted; or, if it was, not above once; for the play, I remember, pleased not the million; ’twas caviare to the general: but it was—as I received it, and others, whose judgments in such matters cried in the top of mine—an excellent play, well digested in the scenes, set down with as much modesty as cunning. I remember, one said there were no sallets in the lines to make the matter savoury, nor no matter in the phrase that might indict the author of affectation; but called it an honest method, as wholesome as sweet, and by very much more handsome than fine. One speech in it I chiefly loved: ’twas Aeneas’ tale to Dido; and thereabout of it especially, where he speaks of Priam’s slaughter: if it live in your memory, begin at this line: let me see, let me see—” | 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

- [How many lines does Hamlet have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/hamlet/hamlet)
- [How many lines does Ophelia have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/hamlet/ophelia)
- [Hamlet: To be, or not to be](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/to-be-or-not-to-be)
- [Hamlet: O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/o-what-a-rogue-and-peasant-slave)
- [Ophelia: O, what a noble mind is here o’erthrown!](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/o-what-a-noble-mind)

## 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.

## How we count

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