# 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. - URL: https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors - Last updated: 2026-10-08 **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](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors/adriana) | 266 | 2,091 | 14.6% | 14.9 | 6 | | [Antipholus of Syracuse](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors/antipholus-of-syracuse) | 272 | 2,081 | 14.5% | 14.9 | 6 | | [Dromio of Syracuse](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors/dromio-of-syracuse) | 255 | 2,071 | 14.4% | 14.8 | 9 | | [Antipholus of Ephesus](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors/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 Words each role speaks in each scene (scene: words). Scenes: 1.1 = Act 1, Scene 1; 1.2 = Act 1, Scene 2; 2.1 = Act 2, Scene 1; 2.2 = Act 2, Scene 2; 3.1 = Act 3, Scene 1; 3.2 = Act 3, Scene 2; 4.1 = Act 4, Scene 1; 4.2 = Act 4, Scene 2; 4.3 = Act 4, Scene 3; 4.4 = Act 4, Scene 4; 5.1 = Act 5, Scene 1. - **Adriana**: 2.1 (441), 2.2 (501), 3.1 (21), 4.2 (259), 4.4 (265), 5.1 (604) - **Antipholus of Syracuse**: 1.2 (442), 2.2 (609), 3.2 (621), 4.3 (188), 4.4 (42), 5.1 (179) - **Dromio of Syracuse**: 1.2 (17), 2.2 (510), 3.1 (143), 3.2 (502), 4.1 (130), 4.2 (250), 4.3 (359), 4.4 (64), 5.1 (96) - **Antipholus of Ephesus**: 3.1 (416), 4.1 (415), 4.4 (344), 5.1 (569) - **Dromio of Ephesus**: 1.2 (285), 2.1 (264), 3.1 (310), 4.1 (11), 4.4 (323), 5.1 (159) - **Aegeon**: 1.1 (841), 5.1 (257) - **Luciana**: 2.1 (223), 2.2 (69), 3.2 (289), 4.2 (79), 4.4 (44), 5.1 (56) - **Duke**: 1.1 (347), 5.1 (346) - **Angelo**: 3.1 (21), 3.2 (81), 4.1 (285), 5.1 (248) - **Abbess**: 5.1 (552) - **Courtesan**: 4.3 (217), 4.4 (50), 5.1 (27) ## 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 not,” | 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 - [How many lines does Adriana have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors/adriana) - [How many lines does Antipholus of Syracuse have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors/antipholus-of-syracuse) - [How many lines does Dromio of Syracuse have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors/dromio-of-syracuse) - [How many lines does Antipholus of Ephesus have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-comedy-of-errors/antipholus-of-ephesus) ## 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. ## How we count Counts are computed from the full text of the [Standard Ebooks edition](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/the-comedy-of-errors) (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).