Mitarai Digital Folio
Tragedy • c. 1606

Antony and Cleopatra

3,565Lines 5Acts 42Scenes 54Characters 76% / 24%Male / Female Lines

Antony and Cleopatra (c. 1606) fields a crowded stage: 54 named speakers share 3,565 lines across 5 acts and 42 scenes.

Opens (Act 1, Scene 1) — Philo: “Nay, but this dotage of our general's”

Closes (Act 5, Scene 2) — Octavius Caesar: “High order in this great solemnity.”

Full cast of Antony and Cleopatra by line count

# Character Lines Share Acts Scenes
1 Mark Antony ♂ 851 23.9% 4 22
2 Cleopatra ♀ 686 19.2% 5 16
3 Octavius Caesar ♂ 420 11.8% 5 14
4 Domitius Enobarbus ♂ 356 10.0% 4 12
5 Pompey ♂ 140 3.9% 1 3
6 Charmian ♀ 105 2.9% 5 10
7 Messenger ♂ 78 2.2% 4 6
8 Lepidus ♂ 68 1.9% 3 6
9 Menas ♂ 64 1.8% 1 3
10 Agrippa ♂ 61 1.7% 4 7
11 Dolabella ♂ 48 1.3% 2 3
12 Eros ♂ 47 1.3% 2 6
13 Scarus ♂ 40 1.1% 2 4
14 Soldier ♂ 38 1.1% 2 4
15 Mecaenas ♂ 37 1.0% 4 5
16 Octavia ♀ 36 1.0% 2 4
17 Proculeius ♂ 32 0.9% 1 2
18 Soothsayer ♂ 31 0.9% 2 2
19 Alexas ♂ 31 0.9% 2 3
20 Thyreus ♂ 31 0.9% 1 2
21 Ventidius ♂ 30 0.8% 1 1
22 Clown ♂ 28 0.8% 1 1
23 First Soldier ♂ 26 0.7% 1 2
24 Iras ♀ 25 0.7% 4 4
25 Canidius ♂ 25 0.7% 1 2
…29 additional speaking roles with fewer than 25 lines

Scene length across the play

Across 42 scenes: 20 very short (under 50 lines), 15 short (50–149 lines), 6 mid-length (150–299 lines), 1 long (300+ lines).

The shortest scene runs 4 lines, the longest 429 lines, with a mean of about 85 lines per scene.

Line counts act by act

Act Scenes Lines Speakers Density
Act 1 5 582 17
Act 2 7 883 19
Act 3 13 885 25
Act 4 15 695 24
Act 5 2 520 17

Longest scenes in Antony and Cleopatra

Scene Lines Speakers
Act 5, Scene 2 429 12
Act 2, Scene 2 290 6
Act 3, Scene 13 237 7
Act 1, Scene 2 204 11
Act 4, Scene 14 170 9

How male and female voices share Act 1 through Act 5

Act Male lines Female lines Female share Balance
Act 1 358 224 38%
Act 2 761 122 14%
Act 3 733 152 17%
Act 4 584 111 16%
Act 5 277 243 47%

Female voices peak in Act 5 (47% of the act’s dialogue) and are quietest in Act 2 (14%).

When each speaker first enters

  • Act 1 — 17 new speakers enter: Mark Antony, Cleopatra, Octavius Caesar, Domitius Enobarbus, Charmian, Messenger, Lepidus, Soothsayer, Alexas, Iras (+7 more)
  • Act 2 — 10 new speakers enter: Pompey, Menas, Agrippa, Mecaenas, Octavia, First Servant, Second Servant, Menecrates, Varrius, Attendants
  • Act 3 — 11 new speakers enter: Dolabella, Eros, Scarus, Soldier, Thyreus, Ventidius, Canidius, Euphronius, Silius, All (+1 more)
  • Act 4 — 10 new speakers enter: First Soldier, Dercetas, Diomedes, First Guard, Second Soldier, Third Soldier, Fourth Soldier, Second Guard, Third Guard, Captain
  • Act 5 — 6 new speakers enter: Proculeius, Clown, Egyptian, Seleucus, Guard, Gallus

Line-length signature

Of 3,565 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.

How Antony and Cleopatra compares to Shakespeare’s other tragedies

Play Year Lines Acts Scenes Speakers
Antony and Cleopatra (this play) c. 1606 3,565 5 42 54
Othello c. 1604 3,558 5 15 28
King Lear c. 1605 3,499 5 26 26
Coriolanus c. 1608 3,761 5 29 61
Hamlet c. 1600 4,023 5 20 37

Common questions

How long is Antony and Cleopatra?

3,565 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 42 scenes — roughly 85 lines per scene.

Who speaks the most in Antony and Cleopatra?

Mark Antony with 851 lines — about 24% of the play.

Which female character has the most lines in Antony and Cleopatra?

Cleopatra with 686 lines — about 19% of the play’s dialogue.
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