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

> William Shakespeare. 54 speaking roles, 28,333 words, about 202 minutes of speech.

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

**Richard** has the most to say in Richard III: about 1,163 lines and 8,929 words, 31.5% of the play. Richard III follows Richard of Gloucester as he plots and murders his way to the throne. Richard holds nearly a third of the words and speaks in 14 of the 25 scenes, more than any other role. Buckingham, his chief ally, has the next-largest share, about a tenth, and does not speak after Act 5, Scene 1.

- Speaking roles: 54
- Scenes: 25
- Words: 28,333
- Speech time: 202 min

## Every role, largest first

| Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Richard | 1,163 | 8,929 | 31.5% | 63.8 | 14 |
| Buckingham | 364 | 2,733 | 9.6% | 19.5 | 10 |
| Queen Elizabeth | 273 | 2,133 | 7.5% | 15.2 | 6 |
| Queen Margaret | 218 | 1,747 | 6.2% | 12.5 | 2 |
| Clarence | 164 | 1,292 | 4.6% | 9.2 | 2 |
| Anne | 157 | 1,187 | 4.2% | 8.5 | 2 |
| Hastings | 149 | 1,172 | 4.1% | 8.4 | 8 |
| Duchess | 140 | 1,082 | 3.8% | 7.7 | 4 |
| Richmond | 136 | 1,065 | 3.8% | 7.6 | 3 |
| King Edward | 64 | 515 | 1.8% | 3.7 | 1 |
| Derby | 63 | 476 | 1.7% | 3.4 | 6 |
| Second Murderer | 57 | 465 | 1.6% | 3.3 | 1 |
| Catesby | 62 | 449 | 1.6% | 3.2 | 9 |
| First Murderer | 59 | 430 | 1.5% | 3.1 | 2 |
| Rivers | 53 | 428 | 1.5% | 3.1 | 5 |
| Stanley | 44 | 355 | 1.3% | 2.5 | 4 |
| Prince | 43 | 347 | 1.2% | 2.5 | 1 |
| York | 40 | 330 | 1.2% | 2.4 | 2 |
| Brakenbury | 41 | 307 | 1.1% | 2.2 | 3 |
| Ghost | 39 | 303 | 1.1% | 2.2 | 1 |
| Tyrrel | 38 | 269 | 0.9% | 1.9 | 2 |
| Third Citizen | 28 | 229 | 0.8% | 1.6 | 1 |
| Messenger | 30 | 218 | 0.8% | 1.6 | 4 |
| Ratcliff | 30 | 196 | 0.7% | 1.4 | 4 |
| Boy | 18 | 150 | 0.5% | 1.1 | 1 |
| Mayor | 17 | 130 | 0.5% | 0.9 | 3 |
| Scrivener | 14 | 117 | 0.4% | 0.8 | 1 |
| Dorset | 15 | 116 | 0.4% | 0.8 | 4 |
| Second Citizen | 13 | 103 | 0.4% | 0.7 | 1 |
| Grey | 11 | 92 | 0.3% | 0.7 | 3 |
| Archbishop | 12 | 88 | 0.3% | 0.6 | 1 |
| Fourth Messenger | 10 | 76 | 0.3% | 0.5 | 1 |
| Cardinal | 9 | 74 | 0.3% | 0.5 | 1 |
| Norfolk | 10 | 68 | 0.2% | 0.5 | 1 |
| Blunt | 8 | 67 | 0.2% | 0.5 | 2 |
| First Citizen | 8 | 65 | 0.2% | 0.5 | 1 |
| Ghosts | 8 | 65 | 0.2% | 0.5 | 1 |
| Christopher | 8 | 58 | 0.2% | 0.4 | 1 |
| Third Messenger | 7 | 49 | 0.2% | 0.4 | 1 |
| Ely | 7 | 47 | 0.2% | 0.3 | 1 |
| Page | 6 | 39 | 0.1% | 0.3 | 1 |
| Girl | 6 | 38 | 0.1% | 0.3 | 1 |
| Children | 3 | 26 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 1 |
| Second Messenger | 3 | 23 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 1 |
| Vaughan | 3 | 23 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 2 |
| Lovel | 3 | 20 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 2 |
| Pursuivant | 3 | 20 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Gentleman | 2 | 13 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Oxford | 2 | 13 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Another | 2 | 11 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Priest | 2 | 11 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Sheriff | 2 | 11 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Herbert | 1 | 10 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Surrey | 1 | 9 | 0% | 0.1 | 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; 3.5 = Act 3, Scene 5; 3.6 = Act 3, Scene 6; 3.7 = Act 3, Scene 7; 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; 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.

- **Richard**: 1.1 (957), 1.2 (1,188), 1.3 (1,000), 2.1 (313), 2.2 (157), 3.1 (432), 3.4 (252), 3.5 (529), 3.7 (577), 4.2 (617), 4.3 (191), 4.4 (1,478), 5.3 (1,185), 5.4 (53)
- **Buckingham**: 1.3 (91), 2.1 (97), 2.2 (190), 3.1 (438), 3.2 (53), 3.4 (98), 3.5 (190), 3.7 (1,164), 4.2 (198), 5.1 (214)
- **Queen Elizabeth**: 1.3 (388), 2.1 (55), 2.2 (159), 2.4 (93), 4.1 (250), 4.4 (1,188)
- **Queen Margaret**: 1.3 (996), 4.4 (751)
- **Clarence**: 1.1 (162), 1.4 (1,130)
- **Anne**: 1.2 (863), 4.1 (324)
- **Hastings**: 1.1 (71), 1.3 (42), 2.1 (23), 2.2 (4), 3.1 (43), 3.2 (560), 3.4 (396), 5.3 (33)
- **Duchess**: 2.2 (338), 2.4 (207), 4.1 (129), 4.4 (408)
- **Richmond**: 5.2 (147), 5.3 (674), 5.5 (244)

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Scene | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Richard: “Look, what is done cannot be now amended:” | Act 4, Scene 4 | 351 | 46 |
| Richard: “Now is the winter of our discontent” | Act 1, Scene 1 | 319 | 43 |
| Richard: ““Jockey of Norfolk, be not too bold,” | Act 5, Scene 3 | 311 | 39 |
| Richard: “No, to White-Friars; there attend my coming.” | Act 1, Scene 2 | 293 | 38 |
| Richmond: “Why, then ’tis time to arm and give direction.” | Act 5, Scene 3 | 287 | 35 |
| Queen Margaret: “I call’d thee then vain flourish of my fortune;” | Act 4, Scene 4 | 286 | 34 |
| Richard: “I would they were, that I might die at once;” | Act 1, Scene 2 | 277 | 33 |
| King Edward: “Have I a tongue to doom my brother’s death,” | Act 2, Scene 1 | 273 | 32 |
| Richard: “I know not whether to depart in silence,” | Act 3, Scene 7 | 261 | 33 |
| Anne: “Set down, set down your honourable load,” | Act 1, Scene 2 | 249 | 32 |

## 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.

- Clarence and Anne
- Clarence and Duchess
- Clarence and Richmond
- Clarence and King Edward
- Clarence and Derby
- Clarence and Catesby
- Clarence and Rivers
- Clarence and Stanley
- Clarence and Prince
- Clarence and York
- Clarence and Ghost
- Clarence and Tyrrel

## Questions actors ask

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

Richard, with about 1,163 lines and 8,929 words, 31.5% of everything spoken in the play. Buckingham is next, with about 364 lines (9.6%).

### How long is Richard III?

The full text has 28,333 spoken words, about 202 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 III?

54 named roles speak in this edition, across 25 scenes. 45 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-iii) (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).