Mitarai Digital Folio
Problem play • c. 1603

All’s Well That Ends Well

2,925Lines 5Acts 23Scenes 24Characters 67% / 33%Male / Female Lines

Unusually for a Shakespeare problem play, women carry 33% of the dialogue in All's Well That Ends Well (c. 1603) — 2,925 lines in total across 5 acts and 24 speaking characters.

Opens (Act 1, Scene 1) — Countess: “In delivering my son from me, I bury a second husband.”

Closes (Act 5, Scene 3) — King: “Your gentle hands lend us, and take our hearts.”

Full cast of All's Well That Ends Well by line count

# Character Lines Share Acts Scenes
1 Helena ♀ 473 16.2% 5 12
2 King ♂ 387 13.2% 3 4
3 Parolles ♂ 365 12.5% 5 11
4 Countess ♀ 281 9.6% 5 7
5 Lafeu ♂ 274 9.4% 4 7
6 Bertram ♂ 273 9.3% 5 10
7 Clown ♂ 193 6.6% 5 6
8 Second Lord ♂ 147 5.0% 4 7
9 Diana ♀ 136 4.6% 3 4
10 First Lord ♂ 114 3.9% 4 6
11 First Soldier ♂ 78 2.7% 1 2
12 Widow ♀ 65 2.2% 3 5
13 Steward ♂ 43 1.5% 2 2
14 Gentleman ♂ 22 0.8% 1 2
15 Mariana ♀ 20 0.7% 1 1
16 Duke ♂ 19 0.6% 1 2
17 First Gentleman ♂ 12 0.4% 1 1
18 Second Gentleman ♂ 11 0.4% 1 1
19 Servant ♂ 4 0.1% 1 1
20 All ♂ 2 0.1% 2 2
21 Both ♂ 2 0.1% 2 2
22 Second Soldier ♂ 2 0.1% 1 1
23 Page ♂ 1 0.0% 1 1
24 Fourth Lord ♂ 1 0.0% 1 1

How male and female voices share Act 1 through Act 5

Act Male lines Female lines Female share Balance
Act 1 270 300 53%
Act 2 580 160 22%
Act 3 220 282 56%
Act 4 529 108 17%
Act 5 351 125 26%

Female voices peak in Act 3 (56% of the act’s dialogue) and are quietest in Act 4 (17%).

Line counts act by act

Act Scenes Lines Speakers Density
Act 1 3 570 11
Act 2 5 740 12
Act 3 7 502 15
Act 4 5 637 14
Act 5 3 476 10

When each speaker first enters

  • Act 1 — 11 new speakers enter: Helena, King, Parolles, Countess, Lafeu, Bertram, Clown, Second Lord, First Lord, Steward (+1 more)
  • Act 2 — 3 new speakers enter: All, Both, Fourth Lord
  • Act 3 — 6 new speakers enter: Diana, Widow, Mariana, Duke, First Gentleman, Second Gentleman
  • Act 4 — 3 new speakers enter: First Soldier, Servant, Second Soldier
  • Act 5 — 1 new speaker enter: Gentleman

Scene length across the play

Across 23 scenes: 5 very short (under 50 lines), 12 short (50–149 lines), 3 mid-length (150–299 lines), 3 long (300+ lines).

The shortest scene runs 14 lines, the longest 378 lines, with a mean of about 127 lines per scene.

Line-length signature

Of 2,925 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 All's Well That Ends Well

Scene Lines Speakers
Act 5, Scene 3 378 9
Act 4, Scene 3 321 6
Act 2, Scene 3 302 9
Act 1, Scene 3 262 4
Act 1, Scene 1 222 6

How All's Well That Ends Well compares to Shakespeare’s other problem plays

Play Year Lines Acts Scenes Speakers
All's Well That Ends Well (this play) c. 1603 2,925 5 23 24
Measure for Measure c. 1604 2,833 5 17 26
Troilus and Cressida c. 1602 3,456 5 24 28

Common questions

How long is All’s Well That Ends Well?

2,925 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 23 scenes — roughly 127 lines per scene.

Who speaks the most in All’s Well That Ends Well?

Helena with 473 lines — about 16% of the play.

Which act of All’s Well That Ends Well is longest?

Act 2 runs 740 lines across 5 scenes — noticeably heavier than the play’s other acts.

Which female character has the most lines in All’s Well That Ends Well?

Helena with 473 lines — about 16% of the play’s dialogue.
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