The Man of Destiny: every role by lines, words, and stage time

George Bernard Shaw. 10 speaking roles, 9,117 words, about 65 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Napoleon has the most to say in The Man of Destiny: about 478 lines and 3,823 words, 41.9% of the play. The Man of Destiny is Shaw’s one-act comedy about a young Napoleon matching wits with a mysterious lady at an inn in Italy. It is almost a two-hander: Napoleon holds over two-fifths of the words and the Lady over a quarter. The Lieutenant adds about a fifth, and Giuseppe, the innkeeper, about a tenth.

Speaking roles: 10
Scenes: Continuous
Words: 9,117
Speech time: 65 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Napoleon	478	3,823	41.9%	27.3	1
Lady	318	2,556	28%	18.3	1
Lieutenant	210	1,777	19.5%	12.7	1
Giuseppe	124	934	10.2%	6.7	1
A Man’s Voice	1	7	0.1%	0.1	1
Voice	2	6	0.1%	0.0	1
The Man’s Voice	1	5	0.1%	0.0	1
The Officer	1	5	0.1%	0.0	1
A Lady’s Voice	1	2	0%	0.0	1
The Lady’s Voice	2	2	0%	0.0	1

The longest speeches

Speech	Words	Lines
Napoleon: “No, because the English are a race apart. No E…”	418	42
Napoleon: “Because you would have wanted my letter enough…”	327	33
Napoleon: “I shall have it presently. Now attend to me. S…”	145	15
Napoleon: “There are three sorts of people in the world, …”	141	15
Giuseppe: “No, thank you, General. All my life long peopl…”	122	13
Lieutenant: “Not at all: I don’t fly so high. Besides: I’m …”	118	12
Napoleon: “What? What do you mean? Eh? Are you at your tr…”	111	12
Lieutenant: “That was a mistake: an officer should never le…”	110	11
Napoleon: “And you have no devouring devil inside you who…”	105	11
Napoleon: “Capital! Capital! Come: I am a true Corsican i…”	102	11

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in The Man of Destiny?

Napoleon, with about 478 lines and 3,823 words, 41.9% of everything spoken in the play. Lady is next, with about 318 lines (28%).

How long is The Man of Destiny?

The full text has 9,117 spoken words, about 65 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 Man of Destiny?

10 named roles speak in this edition, in one continuous text with no scene breaks. 6 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.