Antony and Cleopatra: 3,565 Lines, 54 Characters, Act-by-Act Breakdown

Antony and Cleopatra (c. 1606) is a tragedy with 3,565 lines of dialogue distributed across 5 acts and 42 scenes. 54 named characters speak at least once; the top five voices account for 69% of the play. Dialogue splits 76% male and 24% female.

The play opens (Act 1, Scene 1) with Philo: “Nay, but this dotage of our general's”

The play closes (Act 5, Scene 2) with Octavius Caesar: “High order in this great solemnity.”

Full cast of Antony and Cleopatra by line count

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

Line counts act by act

Act	Scenes	Lines	Speakers
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

Common questions

How long is Antony and Cleopatra?

Antony and Cleopatra contains 3,565 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 42 scenes — roughly 85 lines per scene on average.

Who speaks the most in Antony and Cleopatra?

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

Which act of Antony and Cleopatra is longest?

Act 3 runs 885 lines across 13 scenes.

Antony and Cleopatra