How many lines does Cordelia have in King Lear?

The size of the part, every scene it speaks in, its longest speeches, and how long it takes to learn.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Cordelia has about 117 lines in King Lear: 823 words in 31 speeches, 3.3% of the play, and the 10th-largest part. The role speaks in 4 of the 26 scenes, and its longest wait is 18 scenes in a row without a line.

Cordelia is a small part, about 3% of the words, with a very long break: after the first scene she is gone for eighteen scenes, until Act 4. Her refusal to flatter in that first scene, “Nothing, my lord,” sets the whole play in motion. Her return peaks in Act 4, Scene 7, when Lear wakes and knows her.

Lines: 117
Words: 823
Share of play: 3.3%
Speech time: 6 min

93% of the words are verse. 31 speeches means about 31 cues to learn.

Scene by scene

Scene	Words	Minutes
Act 1, Scene 1	335	2.4
Act 4, Scene 4	171	1.2
Act 4, Scene 7	280	2.0
Act 5, Scene 3	37	0.3

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words
“Had you not been their father, these white flakes”	Act 4, Scene 7	106
“I yet beseech your majesty—”	Act 1, Scene 1	92
“Good my lord,”	Act 1, Scene 1	78
“Alack, ’tis he: why, he was met even now”	Act 4, Scene 4	76
“The jewels of our father, with wash’d eyes”	Act 1, Scene 1	64
“’Tis known before; our preparation stands”	Act 4, Scene 4	54
“All blest secrets,”	Act 4, Scene 4	41
“We are not the first”	Act 5, Scene 3	37

How many lines a day to learn

New lines a day to be off book in time, learning five days a week. Review what you already know on the other days.

Time until off book	New lines a day
2 weeks	12
3 weeks	8
4 weeks	6
6 weeks	4

Questions actors ask