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

> Sophocles, translated by Francis Storr. 10 speaking roles, 9,744 words, about 70 minutes of speech.

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

**Deianira** has the most to say in The Trachiniae: about 386 lines and 3,108 words, 31.9% of the play. Sophocles’ tragedy follows Deianira, the wife of Heracles, who sends him a robe smeared with what she believes is a love charm. Deianira carries nearly a third of the words. Heracles arrives only in the closing part of the play, yet he still holds about a sixth, on par with the Chorus and Hyllus.

- Speaking roles: 10
- Scenes: Continuous
- Words: 9,744
- Speech time: 70 min

## Every role, largest first

| Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Deianira | 386 | 3,108 | 31.9% | 22.2 | 1 |
| Heracles | 201 | 1,559 | 16% | 11.1 | 1 |
| Chorus | 234 | 1,453 | 14.9% | 10.4 | 1 |
| Hyllus | 180 | 1,406 | 14.4% | 10.0 | 1 |
| Lichas | 118 | 905 | 9.3% | 6.5 | 1 |
| Messenger | 83 | 628 | 6.4% | 4.5 | 1 |
| Nurse | 75 | 571 | 5.9% | 4.1 | 1 |
| Old Man | 13 | 80 | 0.8% | 0.6 | 1 |
| Semi-Chorus 1 | 3 | 20 | 0.2% | 0.1 | 1 |
| Semi-Chorus 2 | 2 | 14 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 |

## The longest speeches

| Speech | Words | Lines |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hyllus: “As thou must hear it, I must tell thee all.” | 538 | 66 |
| Heracles: “Many and grievous, not in name alone,” | 522 | 68 |
| Deianira: “Friends, while our herald guest is in the house” | 503 | 61 |
| Deianira: “My friends, a thing has come to pass, so strange” | 424 | 52 |
| Deianira: “There is an old-world saying current still,” | 406 | 51 |
| Nurse: “’Twas passing strange, but when ye hear the tale” | 386 | 49 |
| Lichas: “Not so; that time he mostly was detained” | 342 | 44 |
| Deianira: “Doubtless ye must have heard of my distress,” | 290 | 38 |
| Deianira: “Nay, by the god, I pray, who hurls his bolts” | 281 | 33 |
| Chorus: “Child of star-bespangled Night,” | 252 | 41 |

## Questions actors ask

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

Deianira, with about 386 lines and 3,108 words, 31.9% of everything spoken in the play. Heracles is next, with about 201 lines (16%).

### How long is The Trachiniae?

The full text has 9,744 spoken words, about 70 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 Trachiniae?

10 named roles speak in this edition, in one continuous text with no scene breaks. 3 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/sophocles/the-trachiniae/francis-storr) (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).