The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus: every role by lines, words, and stage time

Christopher Marlowe. 33 speaking roles, 11,141 words, about 80 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Faustus has the most to say in The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus: about 574 lines and 5,162 words, 46.3% of the play. Doctor Faustus is Marlowe’s verse tragedy of a scholar who sells his soul for knowledge and power. Faustus holds nearly half of all the words, a huge solo load that includes long soliloquies, yet he is absent from 6 of the 16 scenes, several of them comic interludes. Mephistopheles is the next largest role, with about an eighth.

Speaking roles: 33
Scenes: 16
Words: 11,141
Speech time: 80 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Faustus	574	5,162	46.3%	36.9	10
Mephistopheles	162	1,292	11.6%	9.2	7
Wagner	64	506	4.5%	3.6	5
Robin	52	437	3.9%	3.1	2
Emperor	44	401	3.6%	2.9	1
Clown	47	400	3.6%	2.9	1
Horse-Courser	46	389	3.5%	2.8	1
Chorus	27	263	2.4%	1.9	3
First Scholar	26	218	2%	1.6	3
Old Man	23	212	1.9%	1.5	2
Lucifer	20	174	1.6%	1.2	1
Valdes	17	154	1.4%	1.1	1
Ralph	19	144	1.3%	1.0	2
Second Scholar	17	122	1.1%	0.9	3
Cornelius	13	116	1%	0.8	1
Gluttony	12	111	1%	0.8	1
Knight	12	93	0.8%	0.7	1
Pope	11	88	0.8%	0.6	1
Duchess	10	85	0.8%	0.6	1
Good Angel	10	77	0.7%	0.6	3
1st Friar	8	76	0.7%	0.5	1
Evil Angel	10	76	0.7%	0.5	3
Duke	9	73	0.7%	0.5	1
Pride	8	73	0.7%	0.5	1
Envy	7	68	0.6%	0.5	1
Wrath	7	66	0.6%	0.5	1
Vintner	8	58	0.5%	0.4	1
Covetousness	5	49	0.4%	0.4	1
Third Scholar	7	48	0.4%	0.3	2
Sloth	5	47	0.4%	0.3	1
Lechery	3	30	0.3%	0.2	1
Cardinal of Lorrain	2	20	0.2%	0.1	1
First Friar	1	7	0.1%	0.1	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	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Faustus
Mephistopheles
Wagner
Robin
Emperor
Clown
Horse-Courser
Chorus
First Scholar

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Faustus: “Ah, Faustus, Now hast thou but one bare hour t…”	Scene 16	462	47
Faustus: “Settle thy studies, Faustus, and begin To soun…”	Scene 1	461	47
Faustus: “How am I glutted with conceit of this! Shall I…”	Scene 1	296	30
Faustus: “Now that the gloomy shadow of the earth Longin…”	Scene 3	240	24
Emperor: “Then, Doctor Faustus, mark what I shall say. A…”	Scene 10	177	18
Faustus: “Having now, my good Mephistopheles, Passed wit…”	Scene 7	165	17
Faustus: “Was this the face that launched a thousand shi…”	Scene 14	156	16
Horse-Courser: “Alas, alas! Doctor Fustian, quoth a? mass, Doc…”	Scene 11	153	16
Wagner: “Yes, sir, I will tell you: yet if you were not…”	Scene 2	147	15
Faustus: “My heart’s so hardened I cannot repent. Scarce…”	Scene 6	146	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.

Wagner and Robin
Wagner and Emperor
Wagner and Chorus
Wagner and Old Man
Wagner and Lucifer
Wagner and Ralph
Wagner and Gluttony
Wagner and Knight
Wagner and Pope
Wagner and Duchess
Wagner and 1st Friar
Wagner and Duke

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus?

Faustus, with about 574 lines and 5,162 words, 46.3% of everything spoken in the play. Mephistopheles is next, with about 162 lines (11.6%).

How long is The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus?

The full text has 11,141 spoken words, about 80 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 Tragical History of Doctor Faustus?

33 named roles speak in this edition, across 16 scenes. 24 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.