Love’s Labour’s Lost: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 19 speaking roles, 21,030 words, about 150 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Biron has the most to say in Love’s Labour’s Lost: about 615 lines and 4,792 words, 22.8% of the play. Love’s Labour’s Lost follows a king and three lords who swear off women for three years of study, just as a princess and her ladies arrive. Biron is by far the largest part, with more than a fifth of the words and about twice the King’s share. The play has only nine sections, and all eight of the largest roles speak in the long final scene, Act 5, Scene 2.

Speaking roles: 19
Scenes: 9
Words: 21,030
Speech time: 150 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Biron	615	4,792	22.8%	34.2	5
King	306	2,369	11.3%	16.9	4
Princess	288	2,167	10.3%	15.5	3
Armado	245	1,932	9.2%	13.8	4
Boyet	227	1,778	8.5%	12.7	3
Costard	185	1,534	7.3%	11.0	8
Rosaline	177	1,386	6.6%	9.9	3
Holofernes	157	1,300	6.2%	9.3	3
Moth	151	1,106	5.3%	7.9	4
Dumain	80	544	2.6%	3.9	4
Nathaniel	57	521	2.5%	3.7	3
Longaville	71	517	2.5%	3.7	4
Katharine	46	358	1.7%	2.6	2
Maria	42	321	1.5%	2.3	3
Dull	28	235	1.1%	1.7	4
Jaquenetta	17	100	0.5%	0.7	3
Forester	5	35	0.2%	0.3	1
Mercade	4	28	0.1%	0.2	1
First Lord	2	7	0%	0.1	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	2.1	3.1	4.1	4.2	4.3	5.1	5.2
Biron
King
Princess
Armado
Boyet
Costard
Rosaline
Holofernes
Moth
Dumain
Nathaniel
Longaville

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Biron: “’Tis more than need.”	Act 4, Scene 3	588	77
Boyet: ““By heaven, that thou art fair, is most infall…”	Act 4, Scene 1	292	31
Biron: “And I, forsooth, in love! I, that have been lo…”	Act 3, Scene 1	247	32
Boyet: “Under the cool shade of a sycamore”	Act 5, Scene 2	237	30
Armado: “Holla! approach.”	Act 5, Scene 2	225	23
Biron: “The king he is hunting the deer; I am coursing…”	Act 4, Scene 3	207	21
Armado: “Sir, the king is a noble gentleman, and my fam…”	Act 5, Scene 1	201	21
Biron: “Now step I forth to whip hypocrisy.”	Act 4, Scene 3	194	24
Princess: “A time, methinks, too short”	Act 5, Scene 2	191	25
King: “Madam, your father here doth intimate”	Act 2, Scene 1	188	25

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.

Dumain and Forester
Nathaniel and Forester
Nathaniel and First Lord
Longaville and Forester
Katharine and Dull
Katharine and Jaquenetta
Katharine and Forester
Maria and Dull
Maria and Jaquenetta
Dull and Forester
Dull and Mercade
Dull and First Lord

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Love’s Labour’s Lost?

Biron, with about 615 lines and 4,792 words, 22.8% of everything spoken in the play. King is next, with about 306 lines (11.3%).

How long is Love’s Labour’s Lost?

The full text has 21,030 spoken words, about 150 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 Love’s Labour’s Lost?

19 named roles speak in this edition, across 9 scenes. 7 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.