Henry VI, Part I: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 55 speaking roles, 20,511 words, about 147 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Talbot has the most to say in Henry VI, Part I: about 406 lines and 3,117 words, 15.2% of the play. Henry VI, Part I sets England’s losses in France against the first quarrels that lead to the Wars of the Roses. Talbot is the largest part, at about 15% of the words, but the load is spread across 55 speaking roles. Talbot speaks in 12 of 27 sections, none of them in Act 5, while Pucelle continues to the end.

Speaking roles: 55
Scenes: 27
Words: 20,511
Speech time: 147 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Talbot	406	3,117	15.2%	22.3	12
Pucelle	254	1,962	9.6%	14.0	10
Gloucester	183	1,390	6.8%	9.9	7
York	184	1,387	6.8%	9.9	7
King	179	1,330	6.5%	9.5	5
Suffolk	174	1,293	6.3%	9.2	3
Charles	134	1,020	5%	7.3	8
Messenger	95	703	3.4%	5.0	5
Mortimer	88	652	3.2%	4.7	1
Bedford	76	596	2.9%	4.3	4
Winchester	78	592	2.9%	4.2	5
Lucy	77	588	2.9%	4.2	3
Warwick	72	535	2.6%	3.8	4
Somerset	64	514	2.5%	3.7	4
Reignier	59	444	2.2%	3.2	6
Exeter	59	435	2.1%	3.1	5
John	47	400	2%	2.9	2
Alençon	49	359	1.8%	2.6	7
Countess	45	350	1.7%	2.5	1
Burgundy	44	336	1.6%	2.4	6
Margaret	34	254	1.2%	1.8	1
Vernon	29	237	1.2%	1.7	3
Bastard	29	221	1.1%	1.6	5
General	27	203	1%	1.5	1
Shepherd	24	201	1%	1.4	1
Basset	25	191	0.9%	1.4	2
Mayor	21	151	0.7%	1.1	2
Master-Gunner	18	138	0.7%	1.0	1
Cardinal	18	128	0.6%	0.9	1
Salisbury	15	112	0.5%	0.8	1
Third Serving-man	9	74	0.4%	0.5	1
Fastolfe	8	55	0.3%	0.4	2
First Serving-man	7	48	0.2%	0.3	2
Officer	5	48	0.2%	0.3	1
Captain	6	45	0.2%	0.3	3
Woodvile	5	38	0.2%	0.3	1
Soldier	4	34	0.2%	0.2	1
Boy	4	32	0.2%	0.2	1
Scout	5	31	0.2%	0.2	1
Sergeant	4	31	0.2%	0.2	1
First Gaoler	4	30	0.1%	0.2	1
Lawyer	4	29	0.1%	0.2	1
First Sentinel	3	22	0.1%	0.2	1
First Warder	3	22	0.1%	0.2	1
First Soldier	3	21	0.1%	0.2	1
Gargrave	2	18	0.1%	0.1	1
Serving-men	2	18	0.1%	0.1	1
Second Serving-man	2	12	0.1%	0.1	1
Watch	2	11	0.1%	0.1	1
Servant	1	10	0%	0.1	1
Glansdale	1	9	0%	0.1	1
Second Warder	1	9	0%	0.1	1
Legate	1	7	0%	0.1	1
Sentinels	1	7	0%	0.1	1
Porter	1	3	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	1.3	1.4	1.5	1.6	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.5	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	5.3	5.4	5.5
Talbot
Pucelle
Gloucester
York
King
Suffolk
Charles
Messenger
Mortimer
Bedford
Winchester
Lucy
Warwick
Somerset

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
King: “Come hither, you that would be combatants:”	Act 4, Scene 1	298	40
Talbot: “When from the Dauphin’s crest thy sword struck…”	Act 4, Scene 6	254	32
Messenger: “O, no; wherein Lord Talbot was o’erthrown:”	Act 1, Scene 1	248	33
Suffolk: “A dower, my lords! disgrace not so your king,”	Act 5, Scene 5	239	31
Mortimer: “I will, if that my fading breath permit”	Act 2, Scene 5	229	32
Talbot: “What chance is this that suddenly hath cross’d…”	Act 1, Scene 4	222	28
Pucelle: “The regent conquers, and the Frenchmen fly.”	Act 5, Scene 3	215	29
General: “Thou ominous and fearful owl of death,”	Act 4, Scene 2	203	27
King: “Whether it be through force of your report,”	Act 5, Scene 5	172	23
Talbot: “My thoughts are whirled like a potter’s wheel;”	Act 1, Scene 5	168	21

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.

Messenger and Mortimer
Messenger and Warwick
Messenger and Somerset
Messenger and Reignier
Messenger and John
Messenger and Alençon
Messenger and Margaret
Messenger and Vernon
Messenger and Bastard
Messenger and General
Messenger and Shepherd
Messenger and Basset

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Henry VI, Part I?

Talbot, with about 406 lines and 3,117 words, 15.2% of everything spoken in the play. Pucelle is next, with about 254 lines (9.6%).

How long is Henry VI, Part I?

The full text has 20,511 spoken words, about 147 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 VI, Part I?

55 named roles speak in this edition, across 27 scenes. 38 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.