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 |
Joe Duck 