The Taming of the Shrew: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 36 speaking roles, 20,396 words, about 146 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Petruchio has the most to say in The Taming of the Shrew: about 584 lines and 4,604 words, 22.6% of the play. The Taming of the Shrew follows Petruchio’s courtship of the strong-willed Katharina, framed by an induction in which a drunken tinker is tricked into believing he is a lord. Petruchio dominates, with more than a fifth of the words. Katharina has well under half his share, less than the servant Tranio, though both she and Petruchio speak in 8 of 14 sections.

Speaking roles: 36
Scenes: 14
Words: 20,396
Speech time: 146 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Petruchio	584	4,604	22.6%	32.9	8
Tranio	293	2,253	11%	16.1	8
Katharina	221	1,760	8.6%	12.6	8
Hortensio	204	1,568	7.7%	11.2	8
Grumio	172	1,447	7.1%	10.3	4
Lucentio	188	1,372	6.7%	9.8	8
Gremio	165	1,318	6.5%	9.4	6
Baptista	173	1,286	6.3%	9.2	6
Lord	136	1,057	5.2%	7.6	2
Biondello	102	807	4%	5.8	7
Bianca	69	543	2.7%	3.9	7
Sly	62	519	2.5%	3.7	3
Pedant	53	377	1.8%	2.7	3
Vincentio	47	345	1.7%	2.5	3
Curtis	26	169	0.8%	1.2	1
First Servant	16	130	0.6%	0.9	3
Page	16	121	0.6%	0.9	2
Tailor	17	112	0.5%	0.8	1
Second Servant	12	101	0.5%	0.7	1
Third Servant	12	99	0.5%	0.7	1
Widow	11	76	0.4%	0.5	1
First Huntsman	9	74	0.4%	0.5	1
Messenger	8	61	0.3%	0.4	1
Servant	5	33	0.2%	0.2	2
A Player	4	32	0.2%	0.2	1
Second Huntsman	3	29	0.1%	0.2	1
Hostess	3	26	0.1%	0.2	1
Nathaniel	4	22	0.1%	0.2	1
Haberdasher	1	8	0%	0.1	1
Hortensia	1	8	0%	0.1	1
Peter	2	8	0%	0.1	1
All Serving-men	1	5	0%	0.0	1
Players	1	4	0%	0.0	1
Philip	1	3	0%	0.0	1
Joseph	1	2	0%	0.0	1
Nicholas	1	2	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	Ind 1	Ind 2	1.1	1.2	2.1	3.1	3.2	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.5	5.1	5.2
Petruchio
Tranio
Katharina
Hortensio
Grumio
Lucentio
Gremio
Baptista
Lord
Biondello
Bianca
Sly

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Katharina: “Fie, fie! unknit that threatening unkind brow,”	Act 5, Scene 2	364	44
Lord: “Go, sirrah, take them to the buttery,”	Induction scene 1	284	37
Petruchio: “Thus have I politicly begun my reign,”	Act 4, Scene 1	204	24
Lord: “Even as a flattering dream or worthless fancy.”	Induction scene 1	197	25
Lucentio: “Tranio, since for the great desire I had”	Act 1, Scene 1	174	24
Biondello: “Why, Petruchio is coming in a new hat and an o…”	Act 3, Scene 2	172	18
Petruchio: “Well, come, my Kate; we will unto your father’s”	Act 4, Scene 3	162	20
Lord: “Hence comes it that your kindred shuns your ho…”	Induction scene 2	149	19
Petruchio: “They shall go forward, Kate, at thy command.”	Act 3, Scene 2	147	18
Gremio: “Trembled and shook; for why, he stamp’d and sw…”	Act 3, Scene 2	137	17

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.

Biondello and Curtis
Biondello and Tailor
Biondello and Second Servant
Biondello and Third Servant
Biondello and First Huntsman
Biondello and Messenger
Biondello and Servant
Biondello and A Player
Biondello and Second Huntsman
Biondello and Hostess
Biondello and Nathaniel
Biondello and Haberdasher

Roles and monologues in depth

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in The Taming of the Shrew?

Petruchio, with about 584 lines and 4,604 words, 22.6% of everything spoken in the play. Tranio is next, with about 293 lines (11%).

How long is The Taming of the Shrew?

The full text has 20,396 spoken words, about 146 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 Taming of the Shrew?

36 named roles speak in this edition, across 14 scenes. 24 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.