How many lines does Gonzalo have in The Tempest?

The size of the part, every scene it speaks in, its longest speeches, and how long it takes to learn.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Gonzalo has about 165 lines in The Tempest: 1,205 words in 52 speeches, 7.6% of the play, and the 4th-largest part. The role speaks in 4 of the 10 scenes, and its longest wait is 3 scenes in a row without a line.

Gonzalo speaks in the opening storm, but his main scene is Act 2, Scene 1, which holds about half his words: he tries to cheer the grieving king and describes his ideal commonwealth while Antonio and Sebastian mock him. In the last scene he sums up the story’s happy turns. The part mixes verse with a fair amount of prose.

Lines: 165
Words: 1,205
Share of play: 7.6%
Speech time: 9 min

62% of the words are verse. 52 speeches means about 52 cues to learn.

Scene by scene

Scene	Words	Minutes
Act 1, Scene 1	173	1.2
Act 2, Scene 1	618	4.4
Act 3, Scene 3	235	1.7
Act 5, Scene 1	179	1.3

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words
“Beseech you, sir, be merry; you have cause,”	Act 2, Scene 1	72
“Was Milan thrust from Milan, that his issue”	Act 5, Scene 1	68
“I’ the commonwealth I would by contraries”	Act 2, Scene 1	67
“Faith, sir, you need not fear. When we were boys,”	Act 3, Scene 3	57
“Upon mine honour, sir, I heard a humming,”	Act 2, Scene 1	56
“If in Naples”	Act 3, Scene 3	54
“I have great comfort from this fellow: methinks he…”	Act 1, Scene 1	53
“All three of them are desperate: their great guilt,”	Act 3, Scene 3	48

How many lines a day to learn

New lines a day to be off book in time, learning five days a week. Review what you already know on the other days.

Time until off book	New lines a day
2 weeks	17
3 weeks	11
4 weeks	9
6 weeks	6

Questions actors ask