Measure for Measure: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 23 speaking roles, 21,225 words, about 152 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Duke has the most to say in Measure for Measure: about 842 lines and 6,539 words, 30.8% of the play. Measure for Measure follows Isabella, a young novice, as she pleads with the deputy Angelo for her brother’s life while the Duke watches in disguise. The Duke carries nearly a third of the words, more than twice Isabella’s share. Angelo and Lucio are almost the same size, at about 11% each, and Claudio speaks in only three sections.

Speaking roles: 23
Scenes: 17
Words: 21,225
Speech time: 152 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Duke	842	6,539	30.8%	46.7	10
Isabella	424	3,011	14.2%	21.5	8
Angelo	319	2,366	11.1%	16.9	6
Lucio	301	2,306	10.9%	16.5	6
Escalus	181	1,410	6.6%	10.1	5
Pompey	155	1,291	6.1%	9.2	5
Provost	159	1,126	5.3%	8.0	9
Claudio	114	796	3.8%	5.7	3
Elbow	72	598	2.8%	4.3	2
Mariana	68	480	2.3%	3.4	3
Friar Peter	36	273	1.3%	2.0	3
Mistress Overdone	29	226	1.1%	1.6	2
First Gentleman	23	168	0.8%	1.2	1
Abhorson	21	141	0.7%	1.0	2
Barnardine	15	112	0.5%	0.8	1
Francisca	9	76	0.4%	0.5	1
Juliet	10	63	0.3%	0.5	1
Second Gentleman	10	59	0.3%	0.4	1
Froth	11	57	0.3%	0.4	1
Messenger	5	41	0.2%	0.3	1
Friar Thomas	6	35	0.2%	0.3	1
Servant	5	34	0.2%	0.2	2
Justice	3	10	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	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	3.1	3.2	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.6	5.1
Duke
Isabella
Angelo
Lucio
Escalus
Pompey
Provost
Claudio
Elbow
Mariana

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Duke: “Be absolute for death; either death or life”	Act 3, Scene 1	316	37
Angelo: “From thee, even from thy virtue!”	Act 2, Scene 2	211	27
Duke: “This forenamed maid hath yet in her the contin…”	Act 3, Scene 1	182	19
Lucio: “This is the point.”	Act 1, Scene 4	178	23
Duke: “I do fear, too dreadful:”	Act 1, Scene 3	175	21
Pompey: “I am as well acquainted here as I was in our h…”	Act 4, Scene 3	166	17
Duke: “Angelo,”	Act 1, Scene 1	157	22
Duke: “Of government the properties to unfold,”	Act 1, Scene 1	154	20
Angelo: “When I would pray and think, I think and pray”	Act 2, Scene 4	144	18
Angelo: “Who will believe thee, Isabel?”	Act 2, Scene 4	133	17

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.

Claudio and Elbow
Claudio and Mariana
Claudio and Friar Peter
Claudio and Barnardine
Claudio and Francisca
Claudio and Juliet
Claudio and Froth
Claudio and Friar Thomas
Claudio and Servant
Claudio and Justice
Elbow and Mariana
Elbow and Friar Peter

Roles and monologues in depth

How many lines does Angelo have?

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Measure for Measure?

Duke, with about 842 lines and 6,539 words, 30.8% of everything spoken in the play. Isabella is next, with about 424 lines (14.2%).

How long is Measure for Measure?

The full text has 21,225 spoken words, about 152 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 Measure for Measure?

23 named roles speak in this edition, across 17 scenes. 13 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.