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

William Shakespeare. 63 speaking roles, 24,416 words, about 174 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

York has the most to say in Henry VI, Part II: about 380 lines and 2,988 words, 12.2% of the play. Henry VI, Part II shows the English court tearing itself apart while York prepares his claim to the crown and Jack Cade leads a rebellion. No role dominates: York, the Queen, the King, Gloucester, and Suffolk each hold between about 9% and 12% of the words. Gloucester speaks only in Acts 1 to 3, and Cade’s whole part sits in Act 4.

Speaking roles: 63
Scenes: 24
Words: 24,416
Speech time: 174 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
York	380	2,988	12.2%	21.3	9
Queen	317	2,504	10.3%	17.9	9
King	313	2,478	10.1%	17.7	11
Gloucester	300	2,329	9.5%	16.6	7
Suffolk	295	2,295	9.4%	16.4	7
Cade	243	2,137	8.8%	15.3	6
Warwick	131	1,054	4.3%	7.5	8
Duchess	119	959	3.9%	6.9	5
Cardinal	103	815	3.3%	5.8	6
Salisbury	95	719	2.9%	5.1	8
Buckingham	73	555	2.3%	4.0	9
Captain	64	480	2%	3.4	1
Clifford	56	467	1.9%	3.3	4
Iden	51	428	1.8%	3.1	2
Say	48	360	1.5%	2.6	2
Young Clifford	45	346	1.4%	2.5	2
Dick	34	248	1%	1.8	4
Hume	31	244	1%	1.7	2
Messenger	31	227	0.9%	1.6	4
Peter	25	212	0.9%	1.5	2
Richard	24	186	0.8%	1.3	3
Bolingbroke	22	180	0.7%	1.3	1
Somerset	25	176	0.7%	1.3	6
Horner	20	170	0.7%	1.2	2
Simpcox	26	165	0.7%	1.2	1
Whitmore	18	153	0.6%	1.1	1
Holland	18	131	0.5%	0.9	2
Smith	16	124	0.5%	0.9	3
Bevis	15	117	0.5%	0.8	2
Stafford	16	112	0.5%	0.8	1
Vaux	11	84	0.3%	0.6	1
Scales	8	64	0.3%	0.5	1
First Petitioner	8	63	0.3%	0.5	1
Spirit	9	61	0.2%	0.4	1
Stanley	7	60	0.2%	0.4	1
First Gentleman	7	56	0.2%	0.4	1
Wife	8	54	0.2%	0.4	1
Brother	7	46	0.2%	0.3	1
Post	6	45	0.2%	0.3	1
Second Petitioner	6	39	0.2%	0.3	1
First Citizen	4	38	0.2%	0.3	1
Sheriff	4	33	0.1%	0.2	1
First Murderer	5	31	0.1%	0.2	1
Townsman	4	28	0.1%	0.2	1
Margaret Jourdain	4	27	0.1%	0.2	1
First Neighbour	3	21	0.1%	0.2	1
Commons	3	20	0.1%	0.1	1
Michael	4	20	0.1%	0.1	1
Clerk	3	18	0.1%	0.1	1
Herald	2	17	0.1%	0.1	1
Second Murderer	2	17	0.1%	0.1	1
Mayor	2	15	0.1%	0.1	1
Third Neighbour	2	15	0.1%	0.1	1
Second ’Prentice	2	14	0.1%	0.1	1
Servingman	2	13	0.1%	0.1	1
Beadle	2	12	0%	0.1	1
First ’Prentice	1	10	0%	0.1	1
Mate	1	10	0%	0.1	1
Second Gentleman	1	10	0%	0.1	1
Master	1	9	0%	0.1	1
Edward	1	8	0%	0.1	1
Second Neighbour	1	8	0%	0.1	1
Soldier	1	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	1.1	1.2	1.3	1.4	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.5	3.1	3.2	3.3	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.6	4.7	4.8	4.9	4.10	5.1	5.2	5.3
York
Queen
King
Gloucester
Suffolk
Cade
Warwick
Duchess
Cardinal
Salisbury
Buckingham
Captain

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
York: “Now, York, or never, steel thy fearful thoughts,”	Act 3, Scene 1	418	53
Queen: “Be woe for me, more wretched than he is.”	Act 3, Scene 2	396	49
York: “Anjou and Maine are given to the French;”	Act 1, Scene 1	377	46
Queen: “Can you not see? or will ye not observe”	Act 3, Scene 1	296	38
Young Clifford: “Shame and confusion! all is on the rout;”	Act 5, Scene 2	273	35
Duchess: “Ah, Gloucester, teach me to forget myself!”	Act 2, Scene 5	259	31
Captain: “Pool! Sir Pool! lord!”	Act 4, Scene 1	251	34
Gloucester: “Ah, gracious lord, these days are dangerous:”	Act 3, Scene 1	222	30
Cade: “Well, he shall be beheaded for it ten times. A…”	Act 4, Scene 7	221	23
Salisbury: “Sirs, stand apart; the king shall know your mi…”	Act 3, Scene 2	215	28

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.

Warwick and Captain
Warwick and Say
Warwick and Dick
Warwick and Hume
Warwick and Messenger
Warwick and Bolingbroke
Warwick and Simpcox
Warwick and Whitmore
Warwick and Holland
Warwick and Smith
Warwick and Bevis
Warwick and Stafford

Questions actors ask

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

York, with about 380 lines and 2,988 words, 12.2% of everything spoken in the play. Queen is next, with about 317 lines (10.3%).

How long is Henry VI, Part II?

The full text has 24,416 spoken words, about 174 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 II?

63 named roles speak in this edition, across 24 scenes. 51 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.