Macbeth: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 37 speaking roles, 16,424 words, about 117 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Macbeth has the most to say in Macbeth: about 709 lines and 5,287 words, 32.2% of the play. Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, and its title role holds about a third of the words. Lady Macbeth has far fewer lines than her reputation suggests, but almost all of them are in a handful of intense scenes.

Speaking roles: 37
Scenes: 28
Words: 16,424
Speech time: 117 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Macbeth	709	5,287	32.2%	37.8	15
Lady Macbeth	259	1,899	11.6%	13.6	9
Malcolm	210	1,499	9.1%	10.7	8
Macduff	178	1,154	7%	8.2	7
Ross	135	906	5.5%	6.5	7
Banquo	113	772	4.7%	5.5	7
Lennox	71	499	3%	3.6	6
Duncan	70	472	2.9%	3.4	3
First Witch	61	349	2.1%	2.5	4
Doctor	47	326	2%	2.3	3
Porter	31	305	1.9%	2.2	1
Lady Macduff	43	291	1.8%	2.1	1
Hecate	39	265	1.6%	1.9	2
Sergeant	35	236	1.4%	1.7	1
Siward	30	202	1.2%	1.4	4
Gentlewoman	23	181	1.1%	1.3	1
Messenger	23	176	1.1%	1.3	3
First Murderer	31	166	1%	1.2	4
Lord	21	158	1%	1.1	1
Son	20	143	0.9%	1.0	1
Angus	21	137	0.8%	1.0	2
Third Witch	27	129	0.8%	0.9	3
Second Witch	27	125	0.8%	0.9	3
Second Murderer	15	86	0.5%	0.6	2
Old Man	11	81	0.5%	0.6	1
Caithness	11	73	0.4%	0.5	1
Menteith	12	71	0.4%	0.5	2
Donalbain	9	55	0.3%	0.4	1
Young Siward	7	43	0.3%	0.3	1
Third Murderer	8	42	0.3%	0.3	1
Seyton	5	32	0.2%	0.2	2
Third Apparition	5	32	0.2%	0.2	1
Second Apparition	4	23	0.1%	0.2	1
Servant	5	21	0.1%	0.2	2
Fleance	2	15	0.1%	0.1	1
First Apparition	2	13	0.1%	0.1	1
Attendant	1	8	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	1.3	1.4	1.5	1.6	1.7	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.5	3.6	4.1	4.2	4.3	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.4	5.5	5.6	5.7	5.8
Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Malcolm
Macduff
Ross
Banquo
Lennox
Duncan
First Witch
Doctor

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Macbeth: “Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready,”	Act 2, Scene 1	281	34
Lady Macbeth: ““They met me in the day of success: and I have…”	Act 1, Scene 5	261	29
Hecate: “Have I not reason, beldams as you are,”	Act 3, Scene 5	231	34
Macbeth: “Bring them before us. To be thus is nothing;”	Act 3, Scene 1	227	27
Macbeth: “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well”	Act 1, Scene 7	222	29
Lennox: “My former speeches have but hit your thoughts,”	Act 3, Scene 6	195	24
Malcolm: “Macduff, this noble passion,”	Act 4, Scene 3	178	24
Porter: “Here’s a knocking indeed! If a man were porter…”	Act 2, Scene 3	168	17
Lady Macbeth: “Give him tending;”	Act 1, Scene 5	164	24
Malcolm: “We shall not spend a large expense of time”	Act 5, Scene 8	132	16

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.

Banquo and Doctor
Banquo and Lady Macduff
Banquo and Hecate
Banquo and Sergeant
Banquo and Siward
Banquo and Gentlewoman
Banquo and Messenger
Banquo and Lord
Banquo and Son
Banquo and Old Man
Banquo and Caithness
Banquo and Menteith

Roles and monologues in depth

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Macbeth?

Macbeth, with about 709 lines and 5,287 words, 32.2% of everything spoken in the play. Lady Macbeth is next, with about 259 lines (11.6%).

How long is Macbeth?

The full text has 16,424 spoken words, about 117 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 Macbeth?

37 named roles speak in this edition, across 28 scenes. 27 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.