# The Jew of Malta: every role by lines, words, and stage time

> Christopher Marlowe. 33 speaking roles, 17,955 words, about 128 minutes of speech.

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

**Barabas** has the most to say in The Jew of Malta: about 1,121 lines and 8,569 words, 47.7% of the play. The Jew of Malta is Marlowe’s dark verse tragedy of Barabas, a merchant who turns to revenge after Malta’s governor seizes his wealth. Barabas dominates, with nearly half of all the words, and speaks in 15 of 24 sections. Ithamore and Ferneze each hold about a tenth, and Abigail does not speak after Act 3.

- Speaking roles: 33
- Scenes: 24
- Words: 17,955
- Speech time: 128 min

## Every role, largest first

| Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Barabas | 1,121 | 8,569 | 47.7% | 61.2 | 15 |
| Ithamore | 234 | 1,758 | 9.8% | 12.6 | 10 |
| Ferneze | 241 | 1,743 | 9.7% | 12.5 | 8 |
| Abigail | 148 | 1,042 | 5.8% | 7.4 | 5 |
| Pilia-Borza | 91 | 676 | 3.8% | 4.8 | 5 |
| Calymath | 86 | 596 | 3.3% | 4.3 | 5 |
| Friar Jacomo | 63 | 412 | 2.3% | 2.9 | 5 |
| Bellamira | 58 | 405 | 2.3% | 2.9 | 4 |
| Lodowick | 49 | 354 | 2% | 2.5 | 3 |
| Mathias | 47 | 323 | 1.8% | 2.3 | 3 |
| Machiavel | 35 | 280 | 1.6% | 2.0 | 1 |
| Martin del Bosco | 32 | 255 | 1.4% | 1.8 | 2 |
| Friar Barnadine | 39 | 253 | 1.4% | 1.8 | 4 |
| First Knight | 24 | 192 | 1.1% | 1.4 | 4 |
| Messenger | 23 | 165 | 0.9% | 1.2 | 2 |
| First Officer | 18 | 142 | 0.8% | 1.0 | 3 |
| First Jew | 17 | 127 | 0.7% | 0.9 | 2 |
| Katharine | 16 | 121 | 0.7% | 0.9 | 3 |
| Basso | 15 | 102 | 0.6% | 0.7 | 1 |
| Merchant | 15 | 95 | 0.5% | 0.7 | 1 |
| Second Jew | 11 | 71 | 0.4% | 0.5 | 2 |
| Abbess | 8 | 57 | 0.3% | 0.4 | 1 |
| Second Merchant | 9 | 56 | 0.3% | 0.4 | 1 |
| Officer | 7 | 46 | 0.3% | 0.3 | 1 |
| First Basso | 4 | 29 | 0.2% | 0.2 | 1 |
| Slave | 4 | 22 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 1 |
| Second Officer | 2 | 18 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Second Knight | 2 | 15 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |
| First Carpenter | 2 | 9 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Third Jew | 1 | 8 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Three Jews | 1 | 7 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Knight | 1 | 4 | 0% | 0.0 | 1 |
| Knights | 1 | 3 | 0% | 0.0 | 1 |

## Who speaks in which scene

Words each role speaks in each scene (scene: words). Scenes: Pro = Prologue; 1.1 = Act 1, Scene 1; 1.2 = Act 1, Scene 2; 2.1 = Act 2, Scene 1; 2.2 = Act 2, Scene 2; 2.3 = Act 2, Scene 3; 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; 3.6 = Act 3, Scene 6; 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; 4.6 = Act 4, Scene 6; 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; 5.6 = Act 5, Scene 6.

- **Barabas**: 1.1 (1,144), 1.2 (1,372), 2.1 (353), 2.3 (2,181), 3.2 (37), 3.4 (657), 4.1 (720), 4.2 (109), 4.3 (167), 4.5 (417), 4.6 (126), 5.1 (97), 5.2 (241), 5.3 (474), 5.6 (474)
- **Ithamore**: 2.3 (167), 3.1 (51), 3.3 (153), 3.4 (187), 4.1 (79), 4.2 (113), 4.3 (45), 4.4 (629), 4.6 (282), 5.1 (52)
- **Ferneze**: 1.2 (434), 2.2 (154), 3.2 (154), 3.5 (150), 5.1 (174), 5.3 (321), 5.5 (55), 5.6 (301)
- **Abigail**: 1.2 (290), 2.1 (136), 2.3 (111), 3.3 (315), 3.6 (190)
- **Pilia-Borza**: 3.1 (103), 4.4 (348), 4.5 (116), 4.6 (85), 5.1 (24)
- **Calymath**: 1.2 (136), 5.2 (50), 5.3 (121), 5.4 (175), 5.6 (114)
- **Friar Jacomo**: 1.2 (72), 3.3 (55), 3.6 (53), 4.1 (93), 4.3 (139)
- **Bellamira**: 3.1 (96), 4.4 (154), 4.6 (105), 5.1 (50)
- **Lodowick**: 1.2 (63), 2.3 (282), 3.2 (9)

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Scene | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Barabas: “So that of thus much that return was made:” | Act 1, Scene 1 | 360 | 49 |
| Machiavel: “Albeit the world think Machiavel is dead,” | Prologue | 280 | 35 |
| Barabas: “Thus trowls our fortune in by land and sea,” | Act 1, Scene 1 | 277 | 37 |
| Barabas: “As for myself, I walk abroad o’ nights” | Act 2, Scene 3 | 211 | 28 |
| Barabas: “In spite of these swine-eating Christians—” | Act 2, Scene 3 | 200 | 25 |
| Ithamore: “I never knew a man take his death so patiently as this friar; he was ready to leap off ere the halter was about his neck; and when the hangman had put on his hempen tippet, he made such haste to his prayers, as if he had had another cure to serve. Well, go whither he will, I’ll be none of his followers in haste: and, now I think on’t, going to the execution, a fellow met me with a muschatoes like a raven’s wing, and a dagger with a hilt like a warming-pan, and he gave me a letter from one Madam Bellamira, saluting me in such sort as if he had meant to make clean my boots with his lips; the effect was, that I should come to her house. I wonder what the reason is; it may be she sees more in me than I can find in myself: for she writes further, that she loves me ever since she saw me, and who would not requite such love? Here’s her house, and here she comes, and now would I were gone; I am not worthy to look upon her.” | Act 4, Scene 4 | 193 | 20 |
| Ferneze: “O villain! Heaven will be revenged on thee.” | Act 5, Scene 3 | 163 | 23 |
| Barabas: “Pounds say’st thou, governor? well, since it is no more,” | Act 5, Scene 6 | 161 | 21 |
| Barabas: ““Barabas, send me three hundred crowns.—”” | Act 4, Scene 5 | 141 | 17 |
| Barabas: “What tell you me of Job? I wot his wealth” | Act 1, Scene 2 | 140 | 18 |

## 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.

- Pilia-Borza and Calymath
- Pilia-Borza and Friar Jacomo
- Pilia-Borza and Lodowick
- Pilia-Borza and Mathias
- Pilia-Borza and Machiavel
- Pilia-Borza and Friar Barnadine
- Pilia-Borza and Messenger
- Pilia-Borza and First Jew
- Pilia-Borza and Basso
- Pilia-Borza and Merchant
- Pilia-Borza and Second Jew
- Pilia-Borza and Abbess

## Questions actors ask

### Who has the most lines in The Jew of Malta?

Barabas, with about 1,121 lines and 8,569 words, 47.7% of everything spoken in the play. Ithamore is next, with about 234 lines (9.8%).

### How long is The Jew of Malta?

The full text has 17,955 spoken words, about 128 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 Jew of Malta?

33 named roles speak in this edition, across 24 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/christopher-marlowe/the-jew-of-malta) (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).