How many lines does Malvolio have in Twelfth Night?

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

Malvolio has about 271 lines in Twelfth Night: 2,225 words in 87 speeches, 11.5% of the play, and the 5th-largest part. The role speaks in 7 of the 18 scenes, and its longest wait is 3 scenes in a row without a line.

Malvolio’s big moments are the letter scene, the yellow stockings, and the dark room. A lot of the part is prose, so the line count looks smaller than the work.

Lines: 271
Words: 2,225
Share of play: 11.5%
Speech time: 16 min

6% of the words are verse. 87 speeches means about 87 cues to learn.

Scene by scene

Scene	Words	Minutes
Act 1, Scene 5	275	2.0
Act 2, Scene 2	113	0.8
Act 2, Scene 3	162	1.2
Act 2, Scene 5	840	6.0
Act 3, Scene 4	390	2.8
Act 4, Scene 2	301	2.1
Act 5, Scene 1	144	1.0

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words
“M, O, A, I; this simulation is not as the former: …”	Act 2, Scene 5	371
“O, ho! do you come near me now? no worse man than …”	Act 3, Scene 4	194
“Lady, you have. Pray you, peruse that letter.”	Act 5, Scene 1	127
“I marvel your ladyship takes delight in such a bar…”	Act 1, Scene 5	73
“She returns this ring to you, sir: you might have …”	Act 2, Scene 2	67
“Madam, yond young fellow swears he will speak with…”	Act 1, Scene 5	66
“Sir Toby, I must be round with you. My lady bade m…”	Act 2, Scene 3	62
“My masters, are you mad? or what are you? Have ye …”	Act 2, Scene 3	60

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	28
3 weeks	19
4 weeks	14
6 weeks	10

Questions actors ask