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

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

- URL: https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet
- Last updated: 2026-10-08

**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](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet/romeo) | 610 | 4,663 | 19.6% | 33.3 | 14 |
| [Juliet](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet/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](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet/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](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet/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

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; 1.5 = Act 1, Scene 5; Pro 2 = Prologue 2; 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; 2.6 = Act 2, Scene 6; 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; 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.

- **Romeo**: 1.1 (503), 1.2 (188), 1.4 (254), 1.5 (213), 2.1 (18), 2.2 (672), 2.3 (192), 2.4 (339), 2.6 (95), 3.1 (247), 3.3 (528), 3.5 (197), 5.1 (559), 5.3 (658)
- **Juliet**: 1.3 (57), 1.5 (149), 2.2 (889), 2.5 (353), 2.6 (58), 3.2 (899), 3.5 (828), 4.1 (396), 4.2 (89), 4.3 (446), 5.3 (105)
- **Friar Laurence**: 2.3 (561), 2.6 (138), 3.3 (675), 4.1 (447), 4.5 (207), 5.2 (126), 5.3 (570)
- **Nurse**: 1.3 (510), 1.5 (94), 2.2 (2), 2.4 (461), 2.5 (318), 3.2 (228), 3.3 (173), 3.5 (178), 4.2 (11), 4.4 (26), 4.5 (214)
- **Capulet**: 1.1 (26), 1.2 (272), 1.5 (440), 3.4 (255), 3.5 (495), 4.2 (208), 4.4 (143), 4.5 (217), 5.3 (71)
- **Mercutio**: 1.4 (553), 2.1 (258), 2.4 (706), 3.1 (578)
- **Benvolio**: 1.1 (366), 1.2 (155), 1.4 (93), 1.5 (9), 2.1 (65), 2.4 (77), 3.1 (389)
- **Lady Capulet**: 1.1 (10), 1.3 (278), 3.1 (86), 3.4 (16), 3.5 (291), 4.2 (19), 4.3 (21), 4.4 (27), 4.5 (86), 5.3 (39)
- **Prince**: 1.1 (167), 3.1 (123), 5.3 (295)
- **Paris**: 1.2 (32), 3.4 (28), 4.1 (184), 4.5 (46), 5.3 (249)

## 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.”](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/queen-mab) | 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

- [How many lines does Romeo have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet/romeo)
- [How many lines does Juliet have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet/juliet)
- [How many lines does Mercutio have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet/mercutio)
- [How many lines does Tybalt have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/romeo-and-juliet/tybalt)
- [Romeo: But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/but-soft-what-light)
- [Juliet: ’Tis but thy name that is my enemy (What’s in a name?)](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/whats-in-a-name)
- [Mercutio: The Queen Mab speech](https://www.offbook.com/monologues/queen-mab)

## 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.

## How we count

Counts are computed from the full text of the [Standard Ebooks edition](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/romeo-and-juliet) (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).