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

> William Shakespeare. 42 speaking roles, 23,286 words, about 166 minutes of speech.

- URL: https://www.offbook.com/plays/henry-vi-part-iii
- Last updated: 2026-10-08

**Edward** has the most to say in Henry VI, Part III: about 429 lines and 3,482 words, 15% of the play. Henry VI, Part III follows the Wars of the Roses as the crown passes back and forth between Lancaster and York. The load is shared: Edward (later King Edward IV) and Warwick each hold about 15% of the words, with Richard, the future Richard III, close behind. King Henry speaks in only 7 of the 28 scenes.

- Speaking roles: 42
- Scenes: 28
- Words: 23,286
- Speech time: 166 min

## Every role, largest first

| Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Edward | 429 | 3,482 | 15% | 24.9 | 18 |
| Warwick | 436 | 3,421 | 14.7% | 24.4 | 12 |
| Richard | 390 | 3,159 | 13.6% | 22.6 | 17 |
| King Henry | 362 | 2,903 | 12.5% | 20.7 | 7 |
| Queen Margaret | 279 | 2,243 | 9.6% | 16.0 | 7 |
| York | 173 | 1,358 | 5.8% | 9.7 | 3 |
| Clifford | 140 | 1,099 | 4.7% | 7.9 | 6 |
| Clarence | 85 | 662 | 2.8% | 4.7 | 9 |
| King Lewis | 66 | 516 | 2.2% | 3.7 | 1 |
| Prince | 46 | 361 | 1.6% | 2.6 | 6 |
| Somerset | 38 | 305 | 1.3% | 2.2 | 7 |
| Lady Grey | 36 | 301 | 1.3% | 2.2 | 1 |
| Queen Elizabeth | 37 | 299 | 1.3% | 2.1 | 3 |
| Messenger | 36 | 279 | 1.2% | 2.0 | 4 |
| Oxford | 35 | 277 | 1.2% | 2.0 | 8 |
| Northumberland | 30 | 244 | 1% | 1.7 | 3 |
| Montague | 29 | 232 | 1% | 1.7 | 6 |
| Post | 29 | 223 | 1% | 1.6 | 3 |
| Father | 27 | 218 | 0.9% | 1.6 | 1 |
| Rutland | 24 | 196 | 0.8% | 1.4 | 1 |
| Son | 22 | 190 | 0.8% | 1.4 | 1 |
| George | 21 | 173 | 0.7% | 1.2 | 3 |
| Hastings | 20 | 152 | 0.7% | 1.1 | 3 |
| First Keeper | 18 | 146 | 0.6% | 1.0 | 1 |
| Exeter | 17 | 136 | 0.6% | 1.0 | 3 |
| Second Keeper | 14 | 123 | 0.5% | 0.9 | 1 |
| Westmoreland | 11 | 85 | 0.4% | 0.6 | 1 |
| Third Watchman | 9 | 74 | 0.3% | 0.5 | 1 |
| Bona | 9 | 71 | 0.3% | 0.5 | 1 |
| First Watchman | 8 | 62 | 0.3% | 0.4 | 1 |
| Rivers | 7 | 54 | 0.2% | 0.4 | 1 |
| Second Watchman | 7 | 47 | 0.2% | 0.3 | 1 |
| Mayor | 5 | 43 | 0.2% | 0.3 | 1 |
| Norfolk | 3 | 26 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 1 |
| Tutor | 3 | 24 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 1 |
| Lieutenant | 3 | 21 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 1 |
| Huntsman | 2 | 18 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Soldier | 2 | 18 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Nobleman | 2 | 16 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Sir John | 1 | 10 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Second Messenger | 1 | 8 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| First Messenger | 1 | 6 | 0% | 0.0 | 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; 2.1 = Act 2, Scene 1; 2.2 = Act 2, Scene 2; 2.3 = Act 2, Scene 3; 2.4 = Act 2, Scene 4; 2.5 = Act 2, Scene 5; 2.6 = Act 2, Scene 6; 3.1 = Act 3, Scene 1; 3.2 = Act 3, Scene 2; 3.3 = Act 3, Scene 3; 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; 4.8 = Act 4, Scene 8; 5.1 = Act 5, Scene 1; 5.2 = Act 5, Scene 2; 5.3 = Act 5, Scene 3; 5.4 = Act 5, Scene 4; 5.5 = Act 5, Scene 5; 5.6 = Act 5, Scene 6; 5.7 = Act 5, Scene 7.

- **Edward**: 1.1 (37), 1.2 (75), 2.1 (323), 2.2 (308), 2.3 (129), 2.6 (185), 3.2 (481), 4.1 (507), 4.3 (80), 4.5 (61), 4.7 (353), 4.8 (84), 5.1 (229), 5.2 (34), 5.3 (126), 5.4 (53), 5.5 (188), 5.7 (229)
- **Warwick**: 1.1 (351), 2.1 (631), 2.2 (43), 2.3 (137), 2.6 (242), 3.3 (703), 4.2 (217), 4.3 (210), 4.6 (167), 4.8 (159), 5.1 (275), 5.2 (286)
- **Richard**: 1.1 (55), 1.2 (169), 2.1 (536), 2.2 (154), 2.3 (101), 2.4 (47), 2.6 (190), 3.2 (749), 4.1 (164), 4.5 (144), 4.7 (94), 4.8 (18), 5.1 (164), 5.3 (32), 5.5 (92), 5.6 (368), 5.7 (82)
- **King Henry**: 1.1 (601), 2.2 (186), 2.5 (616), 3.1 (583), 4.6 (359), 4.8 (169), 5.6 (389)
- **Queen Margaret**: 1.1 (341), 1.4 (437), 2.2 (165), 2.5 (46), 3.3 (573), 5.4 (408), 5.5 (273)
- **York**: 1.1 (276), 1.2 (285), 1.4 (797)
- **Clifford**: 1.1 (144), 1.3 (188), 1.4 (105), 2.2 (364), 2.4 (56), 2.6 (242)
- **Clarence**: 3.2 (67), 4.1 (198), 4.2 (5), 4.6 (69), 4.8 (22), 5.1 (167), 5.3 (33), 5.5 (53), 5.7 (48)
- **King Lewis**: 3.3 (516)

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Scene | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Richard: “Ay, Edward will use women honourably.” | Act 3, Scene 2 | 575 | 72 |
| King Henry: “This battle fares like to the morning’s war,” | Act 2, Scene 5 | 427 | 54 |
| Queen Margaret: “Brave warriors, Clifford and Northumberland,” | Act 1, Scene 4 | 361 | 43 |
| Queen Margaret: “Great lords, wise men ne’er sit and wail their loss,” | Act 5, Scene 4 | 313 | 38 |
| Warwick: “Ten days ago I drown’d these news in tears;” | Act 2, Scene 1 | 306 | 38 |
| York: “She-wolf of France, but worse than wolves of France,” | Act 1, Scene 4 | 303 | 39 |
| Richard: “What, will the aspiring blood of Lancaster” | Act 5, Scene 6 | 278 | 33 |
| Clifford: “My gracious liege, this too much lenity” | Act 2, Scene 2 | 269 | 34 |
| Clifford: “Here burns my candle out; ay, here it dies,” | Act 2, Scene 6 | 242 | 30 |
| York: “The army of the queen hath got the field:” | Act 1, Scene 4 | 235 | 29 |

## 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.

- Clifford and Clarence
- Clifford and King Lewis
- Clifford and Somerset
- Clifford and Lady Grey
- Clifford and Queen Elizabeth
- Clifford and Oxford
- Clifford and Post
- Clifford and Father
- Clifford and Son
- Clifford and Hastings
- Clifford and First Keeper
- Clifford and Second Keeper

## Questions actors ask

### Who has the most lines in Henry VI, Part III?

Edward, with about 429 lines and 3,482 words, 15% of everything spoken in the play. Warwick is next, with about 436 lines (14.7%).

### How long is Henry VI, Part III?

The full text has 23,286 spoken words, about 166 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 III?

42 named roles speak in this edition, across 28 scenes. 33 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/henry-vi-part-iii) (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).