King Lear: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 25 speaking roles, 25,243 words, about 180 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

King Lear has the most to say in King Lear: about 751 lines and 5,623 words, 22.3% of the play. King Lear follows an aging king who divides his kingdom and is turned out by the daughters he rewarded. King Lear holds just over a fifth of the words, and the rest is widely shared: Edgar, Kent, Gloucester, and Edmund each have about a tenth. Lear is offstage from Act 3, Scene 7 until Act 4, Scene 6, and the Fool speaks for the last time in Act 3, Scene 6.

Speaking roles: 25
Scenes: 26
Words: 25,243
Speech time: 180 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
King Lear	751	5,623	22.3%	40.2	10
Edgar	384	2,859	11.3%	20.4	10
Kent	362	2,604	10.3%	18.6	12
Gloucester	332	2,533	10%	18.1	12
Edmund	308	2,371	9.4%	16.9	9
Fool	222	1,678	6.6%	12.0	6
Goneril	200	1,478	5.9%	10.6	8
Regan	190	1,370	5.4%	9.8	8
Albany	158	1,046	4.1%	7.5	4
Cordelia	117	823	3.3%	5.9	4
Cornwall	104	738	2.9%	5.3	5
Gentleman	84	575	2.3%	4.1	7
Oswald	77	500	2%	3.6	7
King of France	32	240	1%	1.7	1
Messenger	19	125	0.5%	0.9	2
Doctor	18	123	0.5%	0.9	2
Knight	13	105	0.4%	0.8	1
Curan	9	77	0.3%	0.6	1
First servant	9	76	0.3%	0.5	1
Burgundy	12	68	0.3%	0.5	1
Herald	10	59	0.2%	0.4	1
Old man	11	59	0.2%	0.4	1
Third servant	5	39	0.2%	0.3	1
Second servant	5	36	0.1%	0.3	1
Captain	6	35	0.1%	0.3	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	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.5	3.6	3.7	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.6	4.7	5.1	5.2	5.3
King Lear
Edgar
Kent
Gloucester
Edmund
Fool
Goneril
Regan
Albany
Cordelia
Cornwall
Gentleman
Oswald

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Kent: “Sir, I do know you;”	Act 3, Scene 1	203	26
King Lear: “O, reason not the need: our basest beggars”	Act 2, Scene 4	191	23
Edgar: “Sit you down, father; rest you”	Act 4, Scene 6	186	22
Edmund: “This is the excellent foppery of the world, th…”	Act 1, Scene 2	173	18
King Lear: “Ay, every inch a king:”	Act 4, Scene 6	170	24
Edmund: “Thou, nature, art my goddess; to thy law”	Act 1, Scene 2	165	22
Edgar: “A serving-man, proud in heart and mind; that c…”	Act 3, Scene 4	159	16
King Lear: “The king would speak with Cornwall; the dear f…”	Act 2, Scene 4	157	19
Fool: “We’ll set thee to school to an ant, to teach t…”	Act 2, Scene 4	154	19
King Lear: “Meantime we shall express our darker purpose.”	Act 1, Scene 1	153	19

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.

Albany and Cornwall
Albany and King of France
Albany and Doctor
Albany and Curan
Albany and First servant
Albany and Burgundy
Albany and Old man
Albany and Third servant
Albany and Second servant
Cordelia and Cornwall
Cordelia and Oswald
Cordelia and Knight

Roles and monologues in depth

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in King Lear?

King Lear, with about 751 lines and 5,623 words, 22.3% of everything spoken in the play. Edgar is next, with about 384 lines (11.3%).

How long is King Lear?

The full text has 25,243 spoken words, about 180 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 Lear?

25 named roles speak in this edition, across 26 scenes. 12 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.