Mitarai Digital Folio
Tragedy • c. 1594

Titus Andronicus

2,553Lines 5Acts 14Scenes 27Characters 87% / 13%Male / Female Lines

Written in Shakespeare’s early-period career (c. 1594), Titus Andronicus is a tragedy of 2,553 lines, 5 acts and 14 scenes with 27 speaking roles.

Opens (Act 1, Scene 1) — Saturninus: “Noble patricians, patrons of my right,”

Closes (Act 5, Scene 3) — Lucius: “That like events may ne'er it ruinate.”

Full cast of Titus Andronicus by line count

# Character Lines Share Acts Scenes
1 Titus Andronicus ♂ 722 28.3% 5 9
2 Aaron ♂ 356 13.9% 4 6
3 Marcus Andronicus ♂ 263 10.3% 5 8
4 Tamora ♀ 259 10.1% 4 5
5 Saturninus ♂ 211 8.3% 4 5
6 Lucius ♂ 188 7.4% 3 4
7 Demetrius ♂ 94 3.7% 4 7
8 Bassianus ♂ 63 2.5% 2 3
9 Lavinia ♀ 60 2.4% 2 3
10 Chiron ♂ 52 2.0% 4 6
11 Marcus ♂ 47 1.8% 1 1
12 Young Lucius ♂ 45 1.8% 3 4
13 Martius ♂ 31 1.2% 2 2
14 Quintus ♂ 28 1.1% 2 2
15 Second Goth ♂ 21 0.8% 1 1
16 Aemilius ♂ 21 0.8% 2 3
17 Clown ♂ 21 0.8% 1 2
18 Nurse ♀ 19 0.7% 1 1
19 Publius ♂ 14 0.5% 2 2
20 First Goth ♂ 11 0.4% 1 2
21 Messenger ♂ 7 0.3% 1 1
22 Captain ♂ 6 0.2% 1 1
23 All ♂ 4 0.2% 2 2
24 Mutius ♂ 4 0.2% 1 1
25 Tribunes ♂ 3 0.1% 1 1
…2 additional speaking roles with fewer than 3 lines

Line counts act by act

Act Scenes Lines Speakers Density
Act 1 1 502 15
Act 2 4 538 12
Act 3 2 388 6
Act 4 4 547 12
Act 5 3 578 16

How male and female voices share Act 1 through Act 5

Act Male lines Female lines Female share Balance
Act 1 426 76 15%
Act 2 403 135 25%
Act 3 388 0 0%
Act 4 484 63 12%
Act 5 514 64 11%

Female voices peak in Act 2 (25% of the act’s dialogue) and are quietest in Act 3 (0%).

Scene length across the play

Across 14 scenes: 1 very short (under 50 lines), 6 short (50–149 lines), 4 mid-length (150–299 lines), 3 long (300+ lines).

The shortest scene runs 29 lines, the longest 502 lines, with a mean of about 182 lines per scene.

When each speaker first enters

  • Act 1 — 15 new speakers enter: Titus Andronicus, Marcus Andronicus, Tamora, Saturninus, Lucius, Demetrius, Bassianus, Lavinia, Chiron, Martius (+5 more)
  • Act 2 — 2 new speakers enter: Aaron, Marcus
  • Act 3 — 2 new speakers enter: Young Lucius, Messenger
  • Act 4 — 4 new speakers enter: Aemilius, Clown, Nurse, Publius
  • Act 5 — 4 new speakers enter: Second Goth, First Goth, Third Goth, All The Goths

Line-length signature

Of 2,553 total lines: 100% short (under 60 characters, typical of quickfire exchanges), 0% mid-length (60–180 characters), and 0% extended (over 180 characters). That makes this a fast-cut play — the text is dominated by brief exchanges and retorts.

Longest scenes in Titus Andronicus

Scene Lines Speakers
Act 1, Scene 1 502 15
Act 2, Scene 3 308 10
Act 3, Scene 1 302 5
Act 5, Scene 2 206 6
Act 5, Scene 3 205 10

How Titus Andronicus compares to Shakespeare’s other tragedies

Play Year Lines Acts Scenes Speakers
Titus Andronicus (this play) c. 1594 2,553 5 14 27
Julius Caesar c. 1599 2,599 5 18 51
Timon of Athens c. 1607 2,451 5 17 54
Macbeth c. 1606 2,385 5 28 41
Romeo and Juliet c. 1595 3,079 5 25 35

Common questions

How long is Titus Andronicus?

2,553 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 14 scenes — roughly 182 lines per scene.

Who speaks the most in Titus Andronicus?

Titus Andronicus with 722 lines — about 28% of the play.
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