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

William Shakespeare. 44 speaking roles, 17,456 words, about 125 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Pericles has the most to say in Pericles: about 601 lines and 4,578 words, 26.2% of the play. Pericles follows a prince of Tyre through shipwreck, loss, and a long-delayed reunion with his wife and daughter. Pericles has about a quarter of the words but is absent for all of Act 4, where his daughter Marina takes over the story. Gower, the narrator, introduces Acts 2 to 5 and carries about a tenth of the play.

Speaking roles: 44
Scenes: 26
Words: 17,456
Speech time: 125 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Pericles	601	4,578	26.2%	32.7	10
Gower	265	1,787	10.2%	12.8	7
Marina	189	1,268	7.3%	9.1	5
Simonides	153	1,121	6.4%	8.0	3
Helicanus	122	876	5%	6.3	5
Bawd	103	841	4.8%	6.0	2
Cleon	110	832	4.8%	5.9	3
Cerimon	109	731	4.2%	5.2	3
Lysimachus	105	718	4.1%	5.1	2
Dionyza	88	667	3.8%	4.8	4
Boult	80	656	3.8%	4.7	2
Thaisa	81	560	3.2%	4.0	6
Antiochus	66	481	2.8%	3.4	1
First Fisherman	38	308	1.8%	2.2	1
Second Fisherman	28	220	1.3%	1.6	1
Pandar	26	216	1.2%	1.5	2
Thaliard	28	205	1.2%	1.5	2
First Lord	26	197	1.1%	1.4	4
Third Fisherman	18	151	0.9%	1.1	1
Leonine	23	141	0.8%	1.0	1
First Gentleman	24	135	0.8%	1.0	3
Second Gentleman	18	113	0.6%	0.8	2
Second Lord	11	80	0.5%	0.6	3
Lychorida	11	74	0.4%	0.5	1
Diana	10	72	0.4%	0.5	1
First Sailor	9	71	0.4%	0.5	1
Tyrian Sailor	9	54	0.3%	0.4	1
Lord	7	48	0.3%	0.3	1
Second Sailor	6	38	0.2%	0.3	1
First Servant	6	32	0.2%	0.2	1
First Knight	4	29	0.2%	0.2	2
Third Lord	3	26	0.1%	0.2	2
Knights	3	19	0.1%	0.1	1
Daughter	2	16	0.1%	0.1	1
Servant	2	16	0.1%	0.1	1
Second Knight	1	9	0.1%	0.1	1
Third Pirate	2	9	0.1%	0.1	1
First Pirate	2	8	0%	0.1	2
Third Knight	1	8	0%	0.1	1
Escanes	2	6	0%	0.0	1
Messenger	1	6	0%	0.0	1
Marshal	1	5	0%	0.0	1
Philemon	1	4	0%	0.0	1
Second Pirate	1	4	0%	0.0	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.P	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.5	3.P	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.4	4.P	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.6	5.P	5.1	5.2	5.3
Pericles
Gower
Marina
Simonides
Helicanus
Bawd
Cleon
Cerimon
Lysimachus
Dionyza
Boult
Thaisa
Antiochus

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Gower: “Thus time we waste, and longest leagues make s…”	Act 4, Scene 4	382	51
Gower: “Now sleep yslaked hath the rout;”	Act 3, Prologue	374	60
Gower: “Imagine Pericles arrived at Tyre,”	Act 4, Prologue	316	52
Pericles: “Let none disturb us.—Why should this change of…”	Act 1, Scene 2	280	33
Gower: “Here have you seen a mighty king”	Act 2, Prologue	265	40
Pericles: “Thou speak’st like a physician, Helicanus,”	Act 1, Scene 2	237	29
Pericles: “Like a bold champion, I assume the lists,”	Act 1, Scene 1	204	26
Gower: “Marina thus the brothel ’scapes, and chances”	Act 5, Prologue	193	24
Pericles: “How courtesy would seem to cover sin,”	Act 1, Scene 1	181	22
Pericles: “Great king,”	Act 1, Scene 1	164	18

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.

Bawd and Cleon
Bawd and Cerimon
Bawd and Dionyza
Bawd and Thaisa
Bawd and Antiochus
Bawd and First Fisherman
Bawd and Second Fisherman
Bawd and Thaliard
Bawd and First Lord
Bawd and Third Fisherman
Bawd and Leonine
Bawd and First Gentleman

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Pericles?

Pericles, with about 601 lines and 4,578 words, 26.2% of everything spoken in the play. Gower is next, with about 265 lines (10.2%).

How long is Pericles?

The full text has 17,456 spoken words, about 125 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 Pericles?

44 named roles speak in this edition, across 26 scenes. 31 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.