# The Tempest: every role by lines, words, and stage time

> William Shakespeare. 19 speaking roles, 15,827 words, about 113 minutes of speech.

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

**Prospero** has the most to say in The Tempest: about 667 lines and 4,793 words, 30.3% of the play. The Tempest follows Prospero, an exiled duke and magician, as he raises a storm to bring his enemies to his island. Prospero holds about 30% of the words and speaks the Epilogue, but he is silent through all of Act 2. Below him the load is evenly spread: Caliban, Stephano, Gonzalo, and Ariel each have about 7% to 9%.

- Speaking roles: 19
- Scenes: 10
- Words: 15,827
- Speech time: 113 min

## Every role, largest first

| Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Prospero](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest/prospero) | 667 | 4,793 | 30.3% | 34.2 | 6 |
| [Caliban](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest/caliban) | 177 | 1,346 | 8.5% | 9.6 | 5 |
| Stephano | 152 | 1,217 | 7.7% | 8.7 | 4 |
| [Gonzalo](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest/gonzalo) | 165 | 1,205 | 7.6% | 8.6 | 4 |
| Ariel | 164 | 1,119 | 7.1% | 8.0 | 6 |
| Antonio | 145 | 979 | 6.2% | 7.0 | 4 |
| Ferdinand | 139 | 979 | 6.2% | 7.0 | 4 |
| [Miranda](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest/miranda) | 142 | 911 | 5.8% | 6.5 | 4 |
| Trinculo | 102 | 818 | 5.2% | 5.8 | 4 |
| Alonso | 108 | 747 | 4.7% | 5.3 | 4 |
| Sebastian | 119 | 707 | 4.5% | 5.1 | 4 |
| Boatswain | 43 | 351 | 2.2% | 2.5 | 2 |
| Iris | 41 | 293 | 1.9% | 2.1 | 1 |
| Ceres | 24 | 154 | 1% | 1.1 | 1 |
| Francisco | 11 | 79 | 0.5% | 0.6 | 2 |
| Adrian | 11 | 64 | 0.4% | 0.5 | 2 |
| Juno | 7 | 41 | 0.3% | 0.3 | 1 |
| Master | 3 | 16 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Mariners | 1 | 8 | 0.1% | 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; 2.1 = Act 2, Scene 1; 2.2 = Act 2, Scene 2; 3.1 = Act 3, Scene 1; 3.2 = Act 3, Scene 2; 3.3 = Act 3, Scene 3; 4.1 = Act 4, Scene 1; 5.1 = Act 5, Scene 1; Epi = Epilogue.

- **Prospero**: 1.2 (2,439), 3.1 (60), 3.3 (107), 4.1 (706), 5.1 (1,354), Epi (127)
- **Caliban**: 1.2 (230), 2.2 (416), 3.2 (484), 4.1 (160), 5.1 (56)
- **Stephano**: 2.2 (584), 3.2 (404), 4.1 (187), 5.1 (42)
- **Gonzalo**: 1.1 (173), 2.1 (618), 3.3 (235), 5.1 (179)
- **Ariel**: 1.2 (475), 2.1 (45), 3.2 (15), 3.3 (237), 4.1 (200), 5.1 (147)
- **Antonio**: 1.1 (50), 2.1 (837), 3.3 (79), 5.1 (13)
- **Ferdinand**: 1.2 (334), 3.1 (424), 4.1 (132), 5.1 (89)
- **Miranda**: 1.2 (525), 3.1 (326), 4.1 (16), 5.1 (44)
- **Trinculo**: 2.2 (456), 3.2 (216), 4.1 (104), 5.1 (42)
- **Alonso**: 1.1 (10), 2.1 (155), 3.3 (195), 5.1 (387)
- **Sebastian**: 1.1 (19), 2.1 (578), 3.3 (72), 5.1 (38)
- **Boatswain**: 1.1 (214), 5.1 (137)

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Scene | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Prospero: “Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes and groves,” | Act 5, Scene 1 | 424 | 55 |
| Trinculo: “Here’s neither bush nor shrub, to bear off any weather at all, and another storm brewing; I hear it sing i’ the wind: yond same black cloud, yond huge one, looks like a foul bombard that would shed his liquor. If it should thunder as it did before, I know not where to hide my head: yond same cloud cannot choose but fall by pailfuls. What have we here? a man or a fish? dead or alive? A fish: he smells like a fish; a very ancient and fish-like smell; a kind of not of the newest Poor-John. A strange fish! Were I in England now, as once I was, and had but this fish painted, not a holiday fool there but would give a piece of silver: there would this monster make a man; any strange beast there makes a man: when they will not give a doit to relieve a lame beggar, they will lazy out ten to see a dead Indian. Legged like a man! and his fins like arms! Warm o’ my troth! I do now let loose my opinion; hold it no longer: this is no fish, but an islander, that hath lately suffered by a thunderbolt. Alas, the storm is come again! my best way is to creep under his gaberdine; there is no other shelter hereabouts: misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows. I will here shroud till the dregs of the storm be past.” | Act 2, Scene 2 | 242 | 25 |
| Ariel: “You are three men of sin, whom Destiny,” | Act 3, Scene 3 | 237 | 30 |
| Prospero: “In this last tempest. I perceive, these lords” | Act 5, Scene 1 | 152 | 19 |
| Caliban: “All the infections that the sun sucks up” | Act 2, Scene 2 | 144 | 18 |
| Prospero: “I pray thee, mark me.” | Act 1, Scene 2 | 140 | 19 |
| Caliban: “Why, as I told thee, ’tis a custom with him,” | Act 3, Scene 2 | 139 | 17 |
| Prospero: “You do look, my son, in a moved sort,” | Act 4, Scene 1 | 138 | 18 |
| Caliban: “I must eat my dinner.” | Act 1, Scene 2 | 129 | 15 |
| Antonio: “Ay, sir; where lies that? if ’twere a kibe,” | Act 2, Scene 1 | 127 | 15 |

## 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.

- Alonso and Iris
- Alonso and Ceres
- Alonso and Juno
- Sebastian and Iris
- Sebastian and Ceres
- Sebastian and Juno
- Boatswain and Iris
- Boatswain and Ceres
- Boatswain and Francisco
- Boatswain and Adrian
- Boatswain and Juno
- Iris and Francisco

## Roles and monologues in depth

- [How many lines does Prospero have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest/prospero)
- [How many lines does Caliban have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest/caliban)
- [How many lines does Gonzalo have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest/gonzalo)
- [How many lines does Miranda have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/the-tempest/miranda)

## Questions actors ask

### Who has the most lines in The Tempest?

Prospero, with about 667 lines and 4,793 words, 30.3% of everything spoken in the play. Caliban is next, with about 177 lines (8.5%).

### How long is The Tempest?

The full text has 15,827 spoken words, about 113 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 Tempest?

19 named roles speak in this edition, across 10 scenes. 7 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/william-shakespeare/the-tempest) (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).