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

> Sophocles, translated by Francis Storr. 6 speaking roles, 11,360 words, about 81 minutes of speech.

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

**Philoctetes** has the most to say in Philoctetes: about 641 lines and 4,872 words, 42.9% of the play. Sophocles’ drama follows Odysseus and young Neoptolemus as they try to take the bow of Heracles from Philoctetes, who was abandoned on Lemnos. Philoctetes holds about 43% of the words, and Neoptolemus about a quarter. With only 6 speaking roles, these two parts carry about 70% of the play.

- Speaking roles: 6
- Scenes: Continuous
- Words: 11,360
- Speech time: 81 min

## Every role, largest first

| Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Philoctetes | 641 | 4,872 | 42.9% | 34.8 | 1 |
| Neoptolemus | 401 | 3,018 | 26.6% | 21.6 | 1 |
| Chorus | 216 | 1,382 | 12.2% | 9.9 | 1 |
| Odysseus | 166 | 1,312 | 11.5% | 9.4 | 1 |
| Sailor | 62 | 494 | 4.3% | 3.5 | 1 |
| Heracles | 37 | 282 | 2.5% | 2.0 | 1 |

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Philoctetes: “O what a heaven-forsaken wretch am I,” | 491 | 61 |
| Neoptolemus: “To fetch me in a gay decked galley came” | 394 | 48 |
| Philoctetes: “Oh hands, how ill ye fare, made prisoners” | 365 | 45 |
| Philoctetes: “Thou fire, thou utter monster,” | 355 | 43 |
| Chorus: “I saw him not, yet fame affirms the tale” | 316 | 46 |
| Philoctetes: “Oh! in thy father’s, in thy mother’s name,” | 305 | 39 |
| Heracles: “Go not yet till thou hast heard, Son of Poeas, first my word: Heracles to thee appears, His the voice that thrills thine ears. ’Tis for thy sake I have come, Leaving my Olympian home. Mandate from high Zeus I bring To forbid thy journeying: Hear the will of heaven’s King.” | 268 | 35 |
| Odysseus: “Thou must cajole and cheat” | 247 | 31 |
| Neoptolemus: “Sweet to my ears the praises of my sire,” | 246 | 31 |
| Philoctetes: “O hateful life that keep’st me lingering on” | 227 | 27 |

## Questions actors ask

### Who has the most lines in Philoctetes?

Philoctetes, with about 641 lines and 4,872 words, 42.9% of everything spoken in the play. Neoptolemus is next, with about 401 lines (26.6%).

### How long is Philoctetes?

The full text has 11,360 spoken words, about 81 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 Philoctetes?

6 named roles speak in this edition, in one continuous text with no scene breaks. 0 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/sophocles/philoctetes/francis-storr) (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).