Henry IV, Part II: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 48 speaking roles, 25,392 words, about 181 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Falstaff has the most to say in Henry IV, Part II: about 632 lines and 5,475 words, 21.6% of the play. Henry IV, Part II follows the old king’s final illness while Falstaff recruits soldiers in the country and waits for Hal to take the throne. Falstaff is again the largest part, with more than a fifth of the words. Hal appears as the Prince in only 3 of 20 sections, while Shallow, the Hostess, and the Chief-Justice each have about 5 to 6%.

Speaking roles: 48
Scenes: 20
Words: 25,392
Speech time: 181 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Falstaff	632	5,475	21.6%	39.1	8
King	392	3,063	12.1%	21.9	5
Prince	194	1,555	6.1%	11.1	3
Shallow	189	1,527	6%	10.9	4
Hostess	166	1,412	5.6%	10.1	3
Chief-Justice	147	1,136	4.5%	8.1	4
Archbishop	149	1,094	4.3%	7.8	3
Westmoreland	110	853	3.4%	6.1	4
Northumberland	106	818	3.2%	5.8	2
Lancaster	107	806	3.2%	5.8	5
Lord Bardolph	86	647	2.5%	4.6	2
Doll	77	634	2.5%	4.5	2
Morton	78	625	2.5%	4.5	1
Warwick	77	571	2.2%	4.1	4
Pistol	78	551	2.2%	3.9	3
Poins	66	541	2.1%	3.9	2
Mowbray	56	434	1.7%	3.1	3
Hastings	57	417	1.6%	3.0	3
Lady Percy	46	372	1.5%	2.7	1
Bardolph	51	345	1.4%	2.5	6
Rumour	40	297	1.2%	2.1	1
Davy	34	275	1.1%	2.0	2
Silence	40	255	1%	1.8	2
Page	27	203	0.8%	1.5	3
Clarence	21	160	0.6%	1.1	3
Travers	16	120	0.5%	0.9	1
Bullcalf	14	113	0.4%	0.8	1
Gloucester	15	112	0.4%	0.8	3
Second Drawer	11	95	0.4%	0.7	1
Mouldy	12	94	0.4%	0.7	1
Feeble	13	93	0.4%	0.7	1
Servant	12	84	0.3%	0.6	1
First Drawer	9	75	0.3%	0.5	1
First Beadle	9	72	0.3%	0.5	1
Colevile	9	64	0.3%	0.5	1
Harcourt	8	64	0.3%	0.5	1
Gower	8	56	0.2%	0.4	1
Fang	10	53	0.2%	0.4	1
Peto	6	45	0.2%	0.3	1
Lady Northumberland	5	38	0.1%	0.3	1
Shadow	5	34	0.1%	0.2	1
Messenger	4	33	0.1%	0.2	1
Porter	4	28	0.1%	0.2	1
First Groom	3	16	0.1%	0.1	1
Snare	3	15	0.1%	0.1	1
Princes	1	7	0%	0.1	1
Second Groom	1	5	0%	0.0	1
Wart	2	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	Ind	1.1	1.2	1.3	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	3.1	3.2	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.5	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.4	5.5
Falstaff
King
Prince
Shallow
Hostess
Chief-Justice
Archbishop
Westmoreland
Northumberland
Lancaster
Lord Bardolph
Doll
Morton
Warwick

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Falstaff: “I would you had but the wit: ’twere better tha…”	Act 4, Scene 3	373	38
King: “Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought:”	Act 4, Scene 5	371	46
King: “You are right, justice, and you weigh this well;”	Act 5, Scene 2	356	44
King: “O my son,”	Act 4, Scene 5	347	43
Falstaff: “Fare you well, gentle gentlemen. On, Bardolph;…”	Act 3, Scene 2	340	34
Prince: “O, pardon me, my liege! but for my tears,”	Act 4, Scene 5	319	39
Rumour: “Open your ears; for which of you will stop”	Induction	297	40
Lady Percy: “O yet, for God’s sake, go not to these wars!”	Act 2, Scene 3	295	37
Archbishop: “Wherefore do I this? so the question stands.”	Act 4, Scene 1	273	35
Falstaff: “Men of all sorts take a pride to gird at me: t…”	Act 1, Scene 2	270	27

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.

Chief-Justice and Archbishop
Chief-Justice and Westmoreland
Chief-Justice and Northumberland
Chief-Justice and Lord Bardolph
Chief-Justice and Doll
Chief-Justice and Morton
Chief-Justice and Poins
Chief-Justice and Mowbray
Chief-Justice and Hastings
Chief-Justice and Lady Percy
Chief-Justice and Bardolph
Chief-Justice and Rumour

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Henry IV, Part II?

Falstaff, with about 632 lines and 5,475 words, 21.6% of everything spoken in the play. King is next, with about 392 lines (12.1%).

How long is Henry IV, Part II?

The full text has 25,392 spoken words, about 181 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 Henry IV, Part II?

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