Timon of Athens: every role by lines, words, and stage time

William Shakespeare. 56 speaking roles, 17,735 words, about 127 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Timon has the most to say in Timon of Athens: about 846 lines and 6,328 words, 35.7% of the play. Timon of Athens follows a generous Athenian who gives away his fortune, is abandoned by his friends, and turns against all of humanity. Timon carries more than a third of the words, more than the next three roles combined. Apemantus, the cynic who mocks him, is the second-largest part, and Timon’s last scene is Act 5, Scene 1.

Speaking roles: 56
Scenes: 17
Words: 17,735
Speech time: 127 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Timon	846	6,328	35.7%	45.2	8
Apemantus	239	1,742	9.8%	12.4	4
Flavius	204	1,518	8.6%	10.8	6
Alcibiades	159	1,173	6.6%	8.4	5
Poet	103	718	4%	5.1	2
First Senator	86	572	3.2%	4.1	4
Painter	66	442	2.5%	3.2	2
Second Senator	62	424	2.4%	3.0	4
Lucilius	44	375	2.1%	2.7	2
First Lord	44	292	1.6%	2.1	3
Second Lord	43	283	1.6%	2.0	3
Senator	35	283	1.6%	2.0	1
Lucullus	30	279	1.6%	2.0	1
First Stranger	30	230	1.3%	1.6	1
Servant	29	219	1.2%	1.6	3
Flaminius	29	213	1.2%	1.5	3
Sempronius	25	209	1.2%	1.5	1
Old Athenian	29	207	1.2%	1.5	1
Lucilius’ Servant	32	193	1.1%	1.4	1
Fool	21	179	1%	1.3	1
Caphis	21	126	0.7%	0.9	2
Servilius	17	125	0.7%	0.9	2
Messenger	20	122	0.7%	0.9	2
Soldier	15	118	0.7%	0.8	2
First Bandit	11	89	0.5%	0.6	1
Titus	14	89	0.5%	0.6	1
Second Servant	11	79	0.4%	0.6	2
Jeweller	12	77	0.4%	0.6	1
Third Lord	12	73	0.4%	0.5	2
Third Servant	9	73	0.4%	0.5	2
Hortensius	11	70	0.4%	0.5	1
Merchant	11	62	0.3%	0.4	1
Ventidius	9	59	0.3%	0.4	1
Varro’s Servant	11	52	0.3%	0.4	1
Cupid	6	49	0.3%	0.4	1
Page	7	48	0.3%	0.3	1
Second Stranger	6	47	0.3%	0.3	1
Varro’s First Servant	7	44	0.2%	0.3	1
Third Bandit	6	42	0.2%	0.3	1
First Servant	6	41	0.2%	0.3	1
Isidore’s Servant	7	39	0.2%	0.3	1
Third Senator	5	36	0.2%	0.3	2
Varro’s Second Servant	5	36	0.2%	0.3	1
Philotus	6	33	0.2%	0.2	1
Second Bandit	5	33	0.2%	0.2	1
All Servants	6	25	0.1%	0.2	1
Fourth Lord	3	18	0.1%	0.1	1
Banditti	4	17	0.1%	0.1	1
Timandra	4	15	0.1%	0.1	1
First Lady	1	9	0.1%	0.1	1
Some speak	1	5	0%	0.0	1
All Ladies	1	4	0%	0.0	1
All Lords	1	4	0%	0.0	1
Phrynia	1	4	0%	0.0	1
Third Stranger	1	4	0%	0.0	1
Some Other	1	3	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	1.1	1.2	2.1	2.2	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.5	3.6	4.1	4.2	4.3	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.4
Timon
Apemantus
Flavius
Alcibiades
Poet
First Senator
Painter
Second Senator
Lucilius

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Timon: “O blessed breeding sun, draw from the earth”	Act 4, Scene 3	357	47
Timon: “Let me look back upon thee. O thou wall,”	Act 4, Scene 1	303	41
Flavius: “Good fellows all,”	Act 4, Scene 2	237	29
Timon: “Not by his breath that is more miserable.”	Act 4, Scene 3	226	28
Timon: “Nor on the beasts themselves, the birds, and f…”	Act 4, Scene 3	218	27
Timon: “Each man to his stool, with that spur as he wo…”	Act 3, Scene 6	197	21
Timon: “O, no doubt, my good friends, but the gods the…”	Act 1, Scene 2	193	20
Timon: “That, by killing of villains,”	Act 4, Scene 3	193	24
Timon: “A beastly ambition, which the gods grant thee …”	Act 4, Scene 3	188	19
Sempronius: “How! have they denied him?”	Act 3, Scene 3	173	20

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.

Poet and Senator
Poet and Lucullus
Poet and First Stranger
Poet and Servant
Poet and Flaminius
Poet and Sempronius
Poet and Lucilius’ Servant
Poet and Fool
Poet and Caphis
Poet and Servilius
Poet and Soldier
Poet and First Bandit

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Timon of Athens?

Timon, with about 846 lines and 6,328 words, 35.7% of everything spoken in the play. Apemantus is next, with about 239 lines (9.8%).

How long is Timon of Athens?

The full text has 17,735 spoken words, about 127 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 Timon of Athens?

56 named roles speak in this edition, across 17 scenes. 47 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.