Romeo and Juliet: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 34 speaking roles, 23,798 words, about 170 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Romeo has the most to say in Romeo and Juliet: about 610 lines and 4,663 words, 19.6% of the play. Romeo and Juliet have almost the same amount to say, and both carry long verse passages in the balcony and potion scenes. Mercutio is short but famous: he is gone by the middle of the play, after the Queen Mab speech and the fight with Tybalt.

Speaking roles: 34
Scenes: 25
Words: 23,798
Speech time: 170 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Romeo	610	4,663	19.6%	33.3	14
Juliet	542	4,269	17.9%	30.5	11
Friar Laurence	350	2,724	11.4%	19.5	7
Nurse	280	2,215	9.3%	15.8	11
Capulet	270	2,127	8.9%	15.2	9
Mercutio	261	2,095	8.8%	15.0	4
Benvolio	160	1,154	4.8%	8.2	7
Lady Capulet	114	873	3.7%	6.2	10
Prince	75	585	2.5%	4.2	3
Paris	69	539	2.3%	3.9	5
Montague	41	317	1.3%	2.3	3
Tybalt	36	263	1.1%	1.9	3
Sampson	33	256	1.1%	1.8	1
Peter	33	246	1%	1.8	2
Balthasar	32	232	1%	1.7	2
Servant	22	178	0.7%	1.3	2
Gregory	21	149	0.6%	1.1	1
First Watchman	19	133	0.6%	1.0	1
Chorus	14	113	0.5%	0.8	1
Friar John	13	97	0.4%	0.7	1
Second Servingman	12	96	0.4%	0.7	3
Page	9	80	0.3%	0.6	1
First Servingman	9	79	0.3%	0.6	2
First Musician	10	70	0.3%	0.5	1
Apothecary	7	53	0.2%	0.4	1
First Citizen	6	43	0.2%	0.3	2
Second Musician	5	34	0.1%	0.2	1
Lady Montague	3	28	0.1%	0.2	1
Third Watchman	3	26	0.1%	0.2	1
Abraham	5	24	0.1%	0.2	1
Second Capulet	3	17	0.1%	0.1	1
Second Watchman	1	9	0%	0.1	1
Third Musician	1	7	0%	0.1	1
Servingman	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	1.5	Pro 2	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.5	2.6	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.5	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.5	5.1	5.2	5.3
Romeo
Juliet
Friar Laurence
Nurse
Capulet
Mercutio
Benvolio
Lady Capulet
Prince
Paris

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Friar Laurence: “Hold thy desperate hand:”	Act 3, Scene 3	399	51
Romeo: “In faith, I will. Let me peruse this face.”	Act 5, Scene 3	378	47
Juliet: “Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again.”	Act 4, Scene 3	356	45
Mercutio: “O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.”	Act 1, Scene 4	326	43
Friar Laurence: “I will be brief, for my short date of breath”	Act 5, Scene 3	326	41
Nurse: “Even or odd, of all days in the year,”	Act 1, Scene 3	286	33
Juliet: “Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds,”	Act 3, Scene 2	276	35
Friar Laurence: “Hold, then; go home, be merry, give consent”	Act 4, Scene 1	254	32
Juliet: “Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?”	Act 3, Scene 2	237	31
Friar Laurence: “The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night,”	Act 2, Scene 3	236	30

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.

Benvolio and Balthasar
Benvolio and First Watchman
Benvolio and Chorus
Benvolio and Friar John
Benvolio and Page
Benvolio and First Musician
Benvolio and Apothecary
Benvolio and Second Musician
Benvolio and Third Watchman
Benvolio and Second Watchman
Benvolio and Third Musician
Lady Capulet and Chorus

Roles and monologues in depth

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Romeo and Juliet?

Romeo, with about 610 lines and 4,663 words, 19.6% of everything spoken in the play. Juliet is next, with about 542 lines (17.9%).

How long is Romeo and Juliet?

The full text has 23,798 spoken words, about 170 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 Romeo and Juliet?

34 named roles speak in this edition, across 25 scenes. 24 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.