# King John: every role by lines, words, and stage time

> William Shakespeare. 27 speaking roles, 20,385 words, about 146 minutes of speech.

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

**Bastard** has the most to say in King John: about 522 lines and 4,068 words, 20% of the play. King John follows the English king’s struggle to hold his crown against France, the Church, and the claim of young Arthur. The Bastard, not the king, has the most words, about a fifth, and speaks in 11 of 16 sections. Constance has about a tenth of the words, but all of it falls in three scenes in Acts 2 and 3.

- Speaking roles: 27
- Scenes: 16
- Words: 20,385
- Speech time: 146 min

## Every role, largest first

| Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bastard | 522 | 4,068 | 20% | 29.1 | 11 |
| King John | 437 | 3,306 | 16.2% | 23.6 | 9 |
| Constance | 264 | 2,112 | 10.4% | 15.1 | 3 |
| King Philip | 193 | 1,476 | 7.2% | 10.5 | 3 |
| Pandulph | 164 | 1,263 | 6.2% | 9.0 | 4 |
| Salisbury | 158 | 1,219 | 6% | 8.7 | 6 |
| Lewis | 154 | 1,192 | 5.8% | 8.5 | 5 |
| Hubert | 140 | 1,023 | 5% | 7.3 | 6 |
| Arthur | 120 | 976 | 4.8% | 7.0 | 5 |
| Pembroke | 78 | 604 | 3% | 4.3 | 4 |
| First Citizen | 64 | 517 | 2.5% | 3.7 | 1 |
| Elinor | 55 | 422 | 2.1% | 3.0 | 4 |
| Blanch | 42 | 332 | 1.6% | 2.4 | 2 |
| Melun | 39 | 309 | 1.5% | 2.2 | 1 |
| Chatillon | 41 | 294 | 1.4% | 2.1 | 2 |
| Austria | 35 | 239 | 1.2% | 1.7 | 2 |
| Prince Henry | 29 | 221 | 1.1% | 1.6 | 1 |
| Messenger | 28 | 210 | 1% | 1.5 | 3 |
| Robert | 22 | 180 | 0.9% | 1.3 | 1 |
| Lady Faulconbridge | 15 | 121 | 0.6% | 0.9 | 1 |
| English Herald | 13 | 100 | 0.5% | 0.7 | 1 |
| French Herald | 12 | 87 | 0.4% | 0.6 | 1 |
| Bigot | 8 | 53 | 0.3% | 0.4 | 1 |
| Essex | 3 | 24 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 1 |
| First Executioner | 2 | 19 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Peter | 1 | 8 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Gurney | 1 | 4 | 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; 2.1 = Act 2, Scene 1; 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; 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.

- **Bastard**: 1.1 (1,161), 2.1 (937), 3.1 (68), 3.2 (56), 3.3 (42), 4.2 (167), 4.3 (452), 5.1 (331), 5.2 (408), 5.6 (144), 5.7 (302)
- **King John**: 1.1 (373), 2.1 (774), 3.1 (259), 3.2 (18), 3.3 (479), 4.2 (921), 5.1 (192), 5.3 (67), 5.7 (223)
- **Constance**: 2.1 (378), 3.1 (1,138), 3.4 (596)
- **King Philip**: 2.1 (917), 3.1 (374), 3.4 (185)
- **Pandulph**: 3.1 (531), 3.4 (542), 5.1 (79), 5.2 (111)
- **Salisbury**: 3.1 (47), 4.2 (216), 4.3 (410), 5.2 (242), 5.4 (145), 5.7 (159)
- **Lewis**: 2.1 (213), 3.1 (53), 3.4 (149), 5.2 (641), 5.5 (136)
- **Hubert**: 3.3 (48), 4.1 (314), 4.2 (260), 4.3 (184), 5.3 (7), 5.6 (210)
- **Arthur**: 2.1 (70), 3.1 (7), 3.3 (9), 4.1 (801), 4.3 (89)
- **Pembroke**: 4.2 (448), 4.3 (86), 5.4 (29), 5.7 (41)
- **First Citizen**: 2.1 (517)
- **Elinor**: 1.1 (227), 2.1 (164), 3.1 (16), 3.3 (15)

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Scene | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bastard: “Brother, adieu: good fortune come to thee!” | Act 1, Scene 1 | 319 | 42 |
| Bastard: “Mad world! mad kings! mad composition!” | Act 2, Scene 1 | 285 | 38 |
| Pandulph: “So makest thou faith an enemy to faith;” | Act 3, Scene 1 | 275 | 35 |
| First Citizen: “That daughter there of Spain, the Lady Blanch,” | Act 2, Scene 1 | 264 | 33 |
| Lewis: “Your grace shall pardon me, I will not back:” | Act 5, Scene 2 | 253 | 31 |
| King Philip: “When I have said, make answer to us both.” | Act 2, Scene 1 | 242 | 32 |
| Salisbury: “Upon our sides it never shall be broken.” | Act 5, Scene 2 | 242 | 32 |
| Bastard: “By all the blood that ever fury breathed,” | Act 5, Scene 2 | 241 | 32 |
| King Philip: “Good reverend father, make my person yours,” | Act 3, Scene 1 | 222 | 29 |
| Constance: “Gone to be married! gone to swear a peace!” | Act 3, Scene 1 | 217 | 26 |

## 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.

- Arthur and Melun
- Arthur and Prince Henry
- Arthur and Messenger
- Arthur and Robert
- Arthur and Lady Faulconbridge
- Arthur and Essex
- Arthur and Peter
- Arthur and Gurney
- Pembroke and First Citizen
- Pembroke and Elinor
- Pembroke and Blanch
- Pembroke and Chatillon

## Questions actors ask

### Who has the most lines in King John?

Bastard, with about 522 lines and 4,068 words, 20% of everything spoken in the play. King John is next, with about 437 lines (16.2%).

### How long is King John?

The full text has 20,385 spoken words, about 146 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 King John?

27 named roles speak in this edition, across 16 scenes. 15 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/king-john) (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).