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

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

- URL: https://www.offbook.com/plays/pericles
- Last updated: 2026-10-08

**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

Words each role speaks in each scene (scene: words). Scenes: 1.1 = Act 1, Scene 1; 1.2 = Act 1, Scene 2; 1.3 = Act 1, Scene 3; 1.4 = Act 1, Scene 4; 2.P = Act 2, Prologue; 2.1 = Act 2, Scene 1; 2.2 = Act 2, Scene 2; 2.3 = Act 2, Scene 3; 2.4 = Act 2, Scene 4; 2.5 = Act 2, Scene 5; 3.P = Act 3, Prologue; 3.1 = Act 3, Scene 1; 3.2 = Act 3, Scene 2; 3.3 = Act 3, Scene 3; 3.4 = Act 3, Scene 4; 4.P = Act 4, Prologue; 4.1 = Act 4, Scene 1; 4.2 = Act 4, Scene 2; 4.3 = Act 4, Scene 3; 4.4 = Act 4, Scene 4; 4.5 = Act 4, Scene 5; 4.6 = Act 4, Scene 6; 5.P = Act 5, Prologue; 5.1 = Act 5, Scene 1; 5.2 = Act 5, Scene 2; 5.3 = Act 5, Scene 3.

- **Pericles**: 1.1 (801), 1.2 (776), 1.4 (136), 2.1 (623), 2.3 (197), 2.5 (223), 3.1 (426), 3.3 (199), 5.1 (817), 5.3 (380)
- **Gower**: 2.P (265), 3.P (374), 4.P (316), 4.4 (382), 5.P (193), 5.2 (121), 5.3 (136)
- **Marina**: 4.1 (329), 4.2 (94), 4.6 (415), 5.1 (420), 5.3 (10)
- **Simonides**: 2.2 (200), 2.3 (499), 2.5 (422)
- **Helicanus**: 1.2 (234), 1.3 (145), 2.4 (255), 5.1 (237), 5.3 (5)
- **Bawd**: 4.2 (532), 4.6 (309)
- **Cleon**: 1.4 (572), 3.3 (112), 4.3 (148)
- **Cerimon**: 3.2 (566), 3.4 (57), 5.3 (108)
- **Lysimachus**: 4.6 (368), 5.1 (350)
- **Dionyza**: 1.4 (72), 3.3 (39), 4.1 (297), 4.3 (259)
- **Boult**: 4.2 (281), 4.6 (375)
- **Thaisa**: 2.2 (161), 2.3 (161), 2.5 (21), 3.2 (13), 3.4 (71), 5.3 (133)
- **Antiochus**: 1.1 (481)

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Scene | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Gower: “Thus time we waste, and longest leagues make short;” | 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 thoughts,” | 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.

## How we count

Counts are computed from the full text of the [Standard Ebooks edition](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/pericles) (public domain; retrieved 2026-10-08). Words are every spoken word, with stage directions removed. Lines are verse lines as printed, plus prose at 10 words a line, because prose has no fixed line breaks; editions differ, so other sources give slightly different line counts. Time is words at 140 words a minute, before pauses and stage business. A role is counted in a scene when it speaks there. To count a script that is not in the library, paste it into the [script line counter](https://www.offbook.com/tools/script-line-counter).