# 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.

- URL: https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-duchess-of-malfi
- Last updated: 2026-10-08

**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

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; 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; 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; 5.1 = Act 5, Scene 1; 5.2 = Act 5, Scene 2; 5.3 = Act 5, Scene 3; 5.4 = Act 5, Scene 4; 5.5 = Act 5, Scene 5.

- **Bosola**: 1.1 (338), 1.2 (275), 2.1 (939), 2.2 (186), 2.3 (403), 3.1 (80), 3.2 (744), 3.3 (2), 3.5 (153), 4.1 (333), 4.2 (1,100), 5.2 (678), 5.4 (212), 5.5 (334)
- **Duchess**: 1.2 (30), 1.3 (928), 2.1 (259), 3.1 (61), 3.2 (799), 3.5 (760), 4.1 (421), 4.2 (709)
- **Ferdinand**: 1.2 (549), 1.3 (243), 2.5 (485), 3.1 (301), 3.2 (456), 3.3 (118), 4.1 (381), 4.2 (370), 5.2 (234), 5.4 (37), 5.5 (159)
- **Antonio**: 1.1 (255), 1.2 (462), 1.3 (359), 2.1 (179), 2.2 (180), 2.3 (242), 3.1 (217), 3.2 (453), 3.5 (247), 5.1 (166), 5.3 (217), 5.4 (159)
- **Cardinal**: 1.1 (12), 1.2 (55), 1.3 (89), 2.4 (262), 2.5 (170), 3.3 (42), 5.2 (801), 5.4 (181), 5.5 (213)
- **Delio**: 1.1 (66), 1.2 (105), 2.1 (76), 2.2 (96), 2.4 (177), 3.1 (80), 3.3 (187), 5.1 (190), 5.3 (211), 5.5 (106)
- **Julia**: 2.4 (207), 5.1 (58), 5.2 (640)

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Scene | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bosola: “One would suspect it for a shop of witchcraft, to find in it the fat of serpents, spawn of snakes, Jews’ spittle, and their young children’s ordure; and all these for the face. I would sooner eat a dead pigeon taken from the soles of the feet of one sick of the plague, than kiss one of you fasting. Here are two of you, whose sin of your youth is the very patrimony of the physician; makes him renew his foot-cloth with the spring, and change his high-pric’d courtesan with the fall of the leaf. I do wonder you do not loathe yourselves. Observe my meditation now.” | 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 broke.” | 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.

## How we count

Counts are computed from the full text of the [Standard Ebooks edition](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/john-webster/the-duchess-of-malfi) (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).