From Open Source Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s plays,
listed by number of lines
Total lines in all plays: 34,896
Total plays: 37
Average per play: 943
Note:
A “line” is either words spoken by a character, or
a stage direction — anything from a one-word shout
to a full soliloquy. |
Lines |
|
Play |
|
Genre |
|
1,361 |
|
Antony and Cleopatra |
|
Tragedy |
1,309 |
|
Othello |
|
Tragedy |
1,301 |
|
Troilus and Cressida |
|
Tragedy |
1,250 |
|
Hamlet |
|
Tragedy |
1,240 |
|
Coriolanus |
|
Tragedy |
1,224 |
|
Richard III |
|
History |
1,181 |
|
King Lear |
|
Tragedy |
1,163 |
|
Merry Wives of Windsor |
|
Comedy |
1,123 |
|
Love’s Labour’s Lost |
|
Comedy |
1,062 |
|
Much Ado about Nothing |
|
Comedy |
1,034 |
|
All’s Well That Ends Well |
|
Comedy |
1,031 |
|
Twelfth Night |
|
Comedy |
990 |
|
Romeo and Juliet |
|
Tragedy |
987 |
|
Henry IV, Part II |
|
History |
987 |
|
Measure for Measure |
|
Comedy |
979 |
|
Cymbeline |
|
History |
965 |
|
Taming of the Shrew |
|
Comedy |
949 |
|
Henry VI, Part III |
|
History |
943 |
|
Two Gentlemen of Verona |
|
Comedy |
921 |
|
Henry VI, Part II |
|
History |
895 |
|
Julius Caesar |
|
Tragedy |
884 |
|
Henry IV, Part I |
|
History |
872 |
|
As You Like It |
|
Comedy |
870 |
|
Timon of Athens |
|
Tragedy |
853 |
|
Henry V |
|
History |
814 |
|
Winter’s Tale |
|
Comedy |
788 |
|
Henry VIII |
|
History |
787 |
|
Henry VI, Part I |
|
History |
765 |
|
Macbeth |
|
Tragedy |
756 |
|
Pericles |
|
History |
722 |
|
Merchant of Venice |
|
Comedy |
702 |
|
Tempest |
|
Comedy |
664 |
|
Comedy of Errors |
|
Comedy |
662 |
|
Titus Andronicus |
|
Tragedy |
636 |
|
Richard II |
|
History |
621 |
|
King John |
|
History |
605 |
|
Midsummer Night’s Dream |
|
Comedy |