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

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

- URL: https://www.offbook.com/plays/timon-of-athens
- Last updated: 2026-10-08

**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

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; 3.4 = Act 3, Scene 4; 3.5 = Act 3, Scene 5; 3.6 = Act 3, Scene 6; 4.1 = Act 4, Scene 1; 4.2 = Act 4, Scene 2; 4.3 = Act 4, Scene 3; 5.1 = Act 5, Scene 1; 5.2 = Act 5, Scene 2; 5.3 = Act 5, Scene 3; 5.4 = Act 5, Scene 4.

- **Timon**: 1.1 (428), 1.2 (777), 2.2 (505), 3.4 (148), 3.6 (411), 4.1 (303), 4.3 (2,838), 5.1 (918)
- **Apemantus**: 1.1 (340), 1.2 (600), 2.2 (169), 4.3 (633)
- **Flavius**: 1.2 (189), 2.2 (579), 3.4 (131), 4.2 (267), 4.3 (273), 5.1 (79)
- **Alcibiades**: 1.1 (14), 1.2 (35), 3.5 (604), 4.3 (213), 5.4 (307)
- **Poet**: 1.1 (538), 5.1 (180)
- **First Senator**: 3.5 (220), 5.1 (161), 5.2 (16), 5.4 (175)
- **Painter**: 1.1 (177), 5.1 (265)
- **Second Senator**: 3.5 (74), 5.1 (186), 5.2 (9), 5.4 (155)
- **Lucilius**: 1.1 (35), 3.2 (340)

## 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 fishes;” | Act 4, Scene 3 | 218 | 27 |
| Timon: “Each man to his stool, with that spur as he would to the lip of his mistress: your diet shall be in all places alike. Make not a city feast of it, to let the meat cool ere we can agree upon the first place: sit, sit. The gods require our thanks.” | Act 3, Scene 6 | 197 | 21 |
| Timon: “O, no doubt, my good friends, but the gods themselves have provided that I shall have much help from you: how had you been my friends else? why have you that charitable title from thousands, did not you chiefly belong to my heart? I have told more of you to myself than you can with modesty speak in your own behalf; and thus far I confirm you. O you gods, think I, what need we have any friends, if we should ne’er have need of ’em? they were the most needless creatures living, should we ne’er have use for ’em, and would most resemble sweet instruments hung up in cases that keep their sounds to themselves. Why, I have often wished myself poorer, that I might come nearer to you. We are born to do benefits: and what better or properer can we can our own than the riches of our friends? O, what a precious comfort ’tis, to have so many, like brothers, commanding one another’s fortunes! O joy, e’en made away ere ’t can be born! Mine eyes cannot hold out water, methinks: to forget their faults, I drink to you.” | 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 t’ attain to! If thou wert the lion, the fox would beguile thee; if thou wert the lamb, the fox would eat three: if thou wert the fox, the lion would suspect thee, when peradventure thou wert accused by the ass: if thou wert the ass, thy dulness would torment thee, and still thou livedst but as a breakfast to the wolf: if thou wert the wolf, thy greediness would afflict thee, and oft thou shouldst hazard thy life for thy dinner: wert thou the unicorn, pride and wrath would confound thee and make thine own self the conquest of thy fury: wert thou a bear, thou wouldst be killed by the horse: wert thou a horse, thou wouldst be seized by the leopard: wert thou a leopard, thou wert german to the lion and the spots of thy kindred were jurors on thy life: all thy safety were remotion and thy defence absence. What beast couldst thou be, that were not subject to a beast? and what a beast art thou already, that seest not thy loss in transformation!” | 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.

## How we count

Counts are computed from the full text of the [Standard Ebooks edition](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/timon-of-athens) (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).