The Comedy of Errors: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 19 speaking roles, 14,351 words, about 103 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Adriana has the most to say in The Comedy of Errors: about 266 lines and 2,091 words, 14.6% of the play. The Comedy of Errors follows two pairs of identical twins, separated as infants, whose arrival in the same town causes a day of mistaken identity. The load is shared almost evenly: Adriana, Antipholus of Syracuse, and Dromio of Syracuse each have about 14% to 15% of the words. Dromio of Syracuse speaks in 9 of 11 sections, and Antipholus of Ephesus does not appear until Act 3.

Speaking roles: 19
Scenes: 11
Words: 14,351
Speech time: 103 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Adriana	266	2,091	14.6%	14.9	6
Antipholus of Syracuse	272	2,081	14.5%	14.9	6
Dromio of Syracuse	255	2,071	14.4%	14.8	9
Antipholus of Ephesus	218	1,744	12.2%	12.5	4
Dromio of Ephesus	160	1,352	9.4%	9.7	6
Aegeon	143	1,098	7.7%	7.8	2
Luciana	95	760	5.3%	5.4	6
Duke	91	693	4.8%	5.0	2
Angelo	78	635	4.4%	4.5	4
Abbess	73	552	3.8%	3.9	1
Courtesan	35	294	2%	2.1	3
Second Merchant	34	268	1.9%	1.9	2
Balthazar	26	202	1.4%	1.4	1
Servant	15	131	0.9%	0.9	1
First Merchant	15	114	0.8%	0.8	1
Pinch	12	103	0.7%	0.7	1
Officer	14	95	0.7%	0.7	2
Luce	10	63	0.4%	0.5	1
Gaoler	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	2.1	2.2	3.1	3.2	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	5.1
Adriana
Antipholus of Syracuse
Dromio of Syracuse
Antipholus of Ephesus
Dromio of Ephesus
Aegeon
Luciana
Duke
Angelo
Abbess
Courtesan

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Aegeon: “A heavier task could not have been imposed”	Act 1, Scene 1	490	65
Antipholus of Ephesus: “My liege, I am advised what I say,”	Act 5, Scene 1	310	41
Adriana: “Ay, ay, Antipholus, look strange and frown:”	Act 2, Scene 2	287	37
Luciana: “And may it be that you have quite forgot”	Act 3, Scene 2	225	28
Adriana: “May it please your grace, Antipholus my husband,”	Act 5, Scene 1	205	25
Antipholus of Syracuse: “Sweet mistress—what your name is else, I know …”	Act 3, Scene 2	204	24
Aegeon: “O, had the gods done so, I had not now”	Act 1, Scene 1	183	23
Balthazar: “Have patience, sir; O, let it not be so!”	Act 3, Scene 1	164	22
Duke: “Merchant of Syracusa, plead no more;”	Act 1, Scene 1	160	24
Abbess: “And thereof came it that the man was mad:”	Act 5, Scene 1	145	19

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.

Duke and Balthazar
Duke and First Merchant
Duke and Pinch
Duke and Officer
Duke and Luce
Angelo and First Merchant
Angelo and Pinch
Angelo and Gaoler
Abbess and Balthazar
Abbess and First Merchant
Abbess and Pinch
Abbess and Officer

Roles and monologues in depth

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in The Comedy of Errors?

Adriana, with about 266 lines and 2,091 words, 14.6% of everything spoken in the play. Antipholus of Syracuse is next, with about 272 lines (14.5%).

How long is The Comedy of Errors?

The full text has 14,351 spoken words, about 103 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 The Comedy of Errors?

19 named roles speak in this edition, across 11 scenes. 8 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.