# Richard II: every role by lines, words, and stage time

> William Shakespeare. 33 speaking roles, 21,800 words, about 156 minutes of speech.

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

**King Richard** has the most to say in Richard II: about 755 lines and 5,988 words, 27.5% of the play. Richard II follows a king who loses his crown to his cousin Bolingbroke, in a play written entirely in verse. King Richard is the largest part, with more than a quarter of the words, and Bolingbroke has about half his share. Gaunt’s part ends in Act 2, Scene 1, and Mowbray speaks only in the two scenes of the opening quarrel.

- Speaking roles: 33
- Scenes: 19
- Words: 21,800
- Speech time: 156 min

## Every role, largest first

| Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| King Richard | 755 | 5,988 | 27.5% | 42.8 | 9 |
| Bolingbroke | 413 | 3,116 | 14.3% | 22.3 | 8 |
| York | 289 | 2,236 | 10.3% | 16.0 | 8 |
| Gaunt | 192 | 1,517 | 7% | 10.8 | 4 |
| Duchess | 151 | 1,194 | 5.5% | 8.5 | 3 |
| Northumberland | 143 | 1,104 | 5.1% | 7.9 | 6 |
| Mowbray | 135 | 1,060 | 4.9% | 7.6 | 2 |
| Queen | 115 | 912 | 4.2% | 6.5 | 4 |
| Aumerle | 86 | 676 | 3.1% | 4.8 | 7 |
| Carlisle | 63 | 485 | 2.2% | 3.5 | 2 |
| Gardener | 52 | 411 | 1.9% | 2.9 | 1 |
| Percy | 46 | 352 | 1.6% | 2.5 | 5 |
| Scroop | 37 | 284 | 1.3% | 2.0 | 1 |
| Bushy | 39 | 271 | 1.2% | 1.9 | 3 |
| Green | 32 | 242 | 1.1% | 1.7 | 3 |
| Fitzwater | 27 | 218 | 1% | 1.6 | 2 |
| Marshal | 25 | 202 | 0.9% | 1.4 | 1 |
| Exton | 21 | 178 | 0.8% | 1.3 | 3 |
| Ross | 22 | 177 | 0.8% | 1.3 | 2 |
| Bagot | 22 | 169 | 0.8% | 1.2 | 2 |
| Salisbury | 20 | 156 | 0.7% | 1.1 | 2 |
| Captain | 15 | 120 | 0.6% | 0.9 | 1 |
| Servant | 17 | 120 | 0.6% | 0.9 | 3 |
| Willoughby | 12 | 102 | 0.5% | 0.7 | 2 |
| Groom | 12 | 90 | 0.4% | 0.6 | 1 |
| Surrey | 10 | 75 | 0.3% | 0.5 | 1 |
| Abbot | 10 | 72 | 0.3% | 0.5 | 1 |
| Berkeley | 8 | 69 | 0.3% | 0.5 | 1 |
| First Herald | 6 | 48 | 0.2% | 0.3 | 1 |
| Second Herald | 7 | 48 | 0.2% | 0.3 | 1 |
| Another Lord | 5 | 43 | 0.2% | 0.3 | 1 |
| Keeper | 5 | 37 | 0.2% | 0.3 | 1 |
| Lady | 6 | 27 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 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; 2.1 = Act 2, Scene 1; 2.2 = Act 2, Scene 2; 2.3 = Act 2, Scene 3; 2.4 = Act 2, Scene 4; 3.1 = Act 3, Scene 1; 3.2 = Act 3, Scene 2; 3.3 = Act 3, Scene 3; 3.4 = Act 3, Scene 4; 4.1 = Act 4, Scene 1; 5.1 = Act 5, Scene 1; 5.2 = Act 5, Scene 2; 5.3 = Act 5, Scene 3; 5.4 = Act 5, Scene 4; 5.5 = Act 5, Scene 5; 5.6 = Act 5, Scene 6.

- **King Richard**: 1.1 (429), 1.3 (544), 1.4 (302), 2.1 (314), 3.2 (1,166), 3.3 (839), 4.1 (1,080), 5.1 (520), 5.5 (794)
- **Bolingbroke**: 1.1 (467), 1.3 (607), 2.3 (436), 3.1 (294), 3.3 (391), 4.1 (259), 5.3 (394), 5.6 (268)
- **York**: 2.1 (575), 2.2 (324), 2.3 (394), 3.1 (16), 3.3 (104), 4.1 (76), 5.2 (522), 5.3 (225)
- **Gaunt**: 1.1 (55), 1.2 (121), 1.3 (506), 2.1 (835)
- **Duchess**: 1.2 (457), 5.2 (352), 5.3 (385)
- **Northumberland**: 2.1 (394), 2.3 (274), 3.3 (227), 4.1 (110), 5.1 (59), 5.6 (40)
- **Mowbray**: 1.1 (653), 1.3 (407)
- **Queen**: 2.1 (6), 2.2 (302), 3.4 (346), 5.1 (258)
- **Aumerle**: 1.3 (38), 1.4 (115), 3.2 (95), 3.3 (23), 4.1 (210), 5.2 (87), 5.3 (108)
- **Carlisle**: 3.2 (115), 4.1 (370)

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Scene | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| King Richard: “I have been studying how I may compare” | Act 5, Scene 5 | 542 | 66 |
| Gaunt: “Methinks I am a prophet new inspired” | Act 2, Scene 1 | 285 | 38 |
| Bolingbroke: “Noble lords,” | Act 3, Scene 3 | 279 | 37 |
| Carlisle: “Marry, God forbid!” | Act 4, Scene 1 | 273 | 36 |
| King Richard: “No matter where; of comfort no man speak:” | Act 3, Scene 2 | 271 | 34 |
| King Richard: “What must the king do now? must he submit?” | Act 3, Scene 3 | 265 | 33 |
| Bolingbroke: “Bring forth these men.” | Act 3, Scene 1 | 236 | 30 |
| Duchess: “Finds brotherhood in thee no sharper spur?” | Act 1, Scene 2 | 229 | 28 |
| King Richard: “We are amazed; and thus long have we stood” | Act 3, Scene 3 | 226 | 29 |
| King Richard: “Discomfortable cousin! know’st thou not” | Act 3, Scene 2 | 217 | 28 |

## 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.

- Mowbray and Queen
- Mowbray and Carlisle
- Mowbray and Gardener
- Mowbray and Percy
- Mowbray and Scroop
- Mowbray and Bushy
- Mowbray and Green
- Mowbray and Fitzwater
- Mowbray and Exton
- Mowbray and Ross
- Mowbray and Bagot
- Mowbray and Salisbury

## Questions actors ask

### Who has the most lines in Richard II?

King Richard, with about 755 lines and 5,988 words, 27.5% of everything spoken in the play. Bolingbroke is next, with about 413 lines (14.3%).

### How long is Richard II?

The full text has 21,800 spoken words, about 156 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 Richard II?

33 named roles speak in this edition, across 19 scenes. 23 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/richard-ii) (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).