The Merry Wives of Windsor: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 23 speaking roles, 21,778 words, about 156 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Falstaff has the most to say in The Merry Wives of Windsor: about 438 lines and 3,772 words, 17.3% of the play. The Merry Wives of Windsor follows Falstaff as he woos two married women, Mistress Page and Mistress Ford, who turn his schemes against him. Falstaff is the largest part, at about 17%, but this is an ensemble play: the next four roles each hold about 8% to 12%. Mistress Page has nearly twice the words of Mistress Ford and almost exactly as many as Ford.

Speaking roles: 23
Scenes: 23
Words: 21,778
Speech time: 156 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Falstaff	438	3,772	17.3%	26.9	9
Mistress Page	316	2,572	11.8%	18.4	9
Ford	301	2,557	11.7%	18.3	9
Mistress Quickly	251	2,122	9.7%	15.2	9
Sir Hugh Evans	221	1,827	8.4%	13.1	10
Mistress Ford	179	1,394	6.4%	10.0	6
Slender	144	1,188	5.5%	8.5	7
Page	150	1,162	5.3%	8.3	11
Justice Shallow	122	949	4.4%	6.8	8
Host	104	859	3.9%	6.1	8
Doctor Caius	111	857	3.9%	6.1	8
Fenton	97	762	3.5%	5.4	4
Pistol	59	416	1.9%	3.0	5
Simple	45	335	1.5%	2.4	5
Nym	31	259	1.2%	1.9	3
Anne Page	37	256	1.2%	1.8	3
Bardolph	25	183	0.8%	1.3	6
Robin	13	100	0.5%	0.7	3
Rugby	11	61	0.3%	0.4	2
William	12	40	0.2%	0.3	1
First Servant	3	20	0.1%	0.1	1
Second Servant	1	9	0%	0.1	1
Servant	1	4	0%	0.0	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	1.4	2.1	2.2	2.3	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.5	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.6	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.4	5.5
Falstaff
Mistress Page
Ford
Mistress Quickly
Sir Hugh Evans
Mistress Ford
Slender
Page
Justice Shallow
Host
Doctor Caius
Fenton

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Fenton: “From time to time I have acquainted you”	Act 4, Scene 6	303	38
Falstaff: “Nay, you shall hear, Master Brook, what I have…”	Act 3, Scene 5	257	26
Mistress Page: “What! have I ’scaped love-letters in the holid…”	Act 2, Scene 1	256	30
Ford: “What a damned Epicurean rascal is this! My hea…”	Act 2, Scene 2	241	25
Mistress Quickly: “Marry, this is the short and the long of it. Y…”	Act 2, Scene 2	186	19
Ford: “Has Page any brains? Hath he any eyes? Hath he…”	Act 3, Scene 2	176	18
Falstaff: “I went to her, Master Brook, as you see, like …”	Act 5, Scene 1	159	16
Mistress Quickly: “About, about!”	Act 5, Scene 5	157	22
Falstaff: “Go fetch me a quart of sack; put a toast in’t.”	Act 3, Scene 5	155	16
Falstaff: “The Windsor bell hath struck twelve; the minut…”	Act 5, Scene 5	151	16

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.

Justice Shallow and William
Justice Shallow and Servant
Host and Anne Page
Host and William
Host and First Servant
Host and Second Servant
Host and Servant
Doctor Caius and Nym
Doctor Caius and William
Doctor Caius and First Servant
Doctor Caius and Second Servant
Fenton and Nym

Roles and monologues in depth

How many lines does Mistress Quickly have?

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in The Merry Wives of Windsor?

Falstaff, with about 438 lines and 3,772 words, 17.3% of everything spoken in the play. Mistress Page is next, with about 316 lines (11.8%).

How long is The Merry Wives of Windsor?

The full text has 21,778 spoken words, about 156 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 Merry Wives of Windsor?

23 named roles speak in this edition, across 23 scenes. 11 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.