The Duchess of Malfi: every role by lines, words, and stage time

John Webster. 32 speaking roles, 23,009 words, about 164 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Bosola has the most to say in The Duchess of Malfi: about 803 lines and 5,777 words, 25.1% of the play. Webster’s revenge tragedy follows a widowed duchess who secretly marries her steward Antonio against the will of her brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal. The largest part is Bosola, their spy, with about a quarter of the words across 14 of 20 scenes. The Duchess has about a sixth and does not appear in Act 5, so her part is concentrated in the first four acts.

Speaking roles: 32
Scenes: 20
Words: 23,009
Speech time: 164 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Bosola	803	5,777	25.1%	41.3	14
Duchess	585	3,967	17.2%	28.3	8
Ferdinand	480	3,333	14.5%	23.8	11
Antonio	459	3,136	13.6%	22.4	12
Cardinal	289	1,825	7.9%	13.0	9
Delio	188	1,294	5.6%	9.2	10
Julia	142	905	3.9%	6.5	3
Pescara	70	442	1.9%	3.2	5
Cariola	69	425	1.8%	3.0	6
Doctor	42	315	1.4%	2.3	1
Servant	39	264	1.1%	1.9	5
Castruccio	27	214	0.9%	1.5	2
Malatesti	26	144	0.6%	1.0	4
Silvio	21	137	0.6%	1.0	2
First Pilgrim	18	126	0.5%	0.9	1
Second Pilgrim	15	87	0.4%	0.6	1
First Madman	10	78	0.3%	0.6	1
Roderigo	13	66	0.3%	0.5	4
Third Madman	8	59	0.3%	0.4	1
Fourth Madman	7	58	0.3%	0.4	1
Second Madman	8	56	0.2%	0.4	1
First Servant	8	51	0.2%	0.4	1
Old Lady	7	42	0.2%	0.3	2
Echo	10	38	0.2%	0.3	1
First Officer	5	36	0.2%	0.3	1
Second Officer	4	32	0.1%	0.2	1
Grisolan	5	29	0.1%	0.2	4
Fourth Officer	3	21	0.1%	0.2	1
Second Servant	4	17	0.1%	0.1	1
First Executioner	4	11	0%	0.1	1
Third Officer	2	11	0%	0.1	1
Bosala	1	10	0%	0.1	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	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.5	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.5	4.1	4.2	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.4	5.5
Bosola
Duchess
Ferdinand
Antonio
Cardinal
Delio
Julia

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Bosola: “One would suspect it for a shop of witchcraft,…”	Act 2, Scene 1	328	39
Bosola: “Antonio hereabout did drop a paper:—”	Act 2, Scene 3	209	24
Antonio: “Most true:”	Act 1, Scene 2	207	26
Antonio: “I admire it:”	Act 1, Scene 1	183	25
Duchess: “I prithee, who is greatest? Can you tell?”	Act 3, Scene 5	183	22
Ferdinand: “The howling of a wolf”	Act 3, Scene 2	180	22
Duchess: “Now she pays it.”	Act 1, Scene 3	166	20
Bosola: “You shall find me ready.”	Act 5, Scene 2	166	20
Ferdinand: “Let me see her face”	Act 4, Scene 2	162	20
Bosola: “O, she’s gone again! there the cords of life b…”	Act 4, Scene 2	160	22

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.

Julia and Cariola
Julia and Castruccio
Julia and Silvio
Julia and First Pilgrim
Julia and Second Pilgrim
Julia and First Madman
Julia and Roderigo
Julia and Third Madman
Julia and Fourth Madman
Julia and Second Madman
Julia and First Servant
Julia and Old Lady

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in The Duchess of Malfi?

Bosola, with about 803 lines and 5,777 words, 25.1% of everything spoken in the play. Duchess is next, with about 585 lines (17.2%).

How long is The Duchess of Malfi?

The full text has 23,009 spoken words, about 164 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 Duchess of Malfi?

32 named roles speak in this edition, across 20 scenes. 25 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.