Mitarai Digital Folio
Comedy • c. 1599

As You Like It

2,676Lines 5Acts 22Scenes 27Characters 61% / 39%Male / Female Lines

Unusually for a Shakespeare comedy, women carry 39% of the dialogue in As You Like It (c. 1599) — 2,676 lines in total across 5 acts and 27 speaking characters.

Opens (Act 1, Scene 1) — Orlando: “As I remember, Adam, it was upon this fashion”

Closes (Act 5, Scene 4) — Rosalind: “kind offer, when I make curtsy, bid me farewell.”

Full cast of As You Like It by line count

# Character Lines Share Acts Scenes
1 Rosalind ♀ 677 25.3% 5 10
2 Orlando ♂ 297 11.1% 5 9
3 Celia ♀ 276 10.3% 4 7
4 Touchstone ♂ 275 10.3% 4 7
5 Jaques ♂ 227 8.5% 4 7
6 Oliver ♂ 147 5.5% 4 4
7 Duke Senior ♂ 111 4.1% 2 3
8 Phebe ♀ 86 3.2% 2 3
9 Silvius ♂ 75 2.8% 4 5
10 Duke Frederick ♂ 69 2.6% 3 4
11 Corin ♂ 68 2.5% 3 4
12 Adam ♂ 65 2.4% 2 4
13 First Lord ♂ 46 1.7% 1 3
14 Le Beau ♂ 46 1.7% 1 1
15 Charles ♂ 41 1.5% 1 2
16 Amiens ♂ 37 1.4% 1 3
17 Hymen ♂ 31 1.2% 1 1
18 Second Page ♂ 22 0.8% 1 1
19 Audrey ♀ 18 0.7% 2 3
20 Jaques De Boys ♂ 17 0.6% 1 1
21 William ♂ 11 0.4% 1 1
22 Second Lord ♂ 11 0.4% 1 2
23 Forester ♂ 10 0.4% 1 1
24 First Page ♂ 5 0.2% 1 1
25 Sir Oliver Martext ♂ 4 0.1% 1 1
…2 additional speaking roles with fewer than 4 lines

How male and female voices share Act 1 through Act 5

Act Male lines Female lines Female share Balance
Act 1 319 249 44%
Act 2 518 32 6%
Act 3 315 405 56%
Act 4 164 240 59%
Act 5 303 131 30%

Female voices peak in Act 4 (59% of the act’s dialogue) and are quietest in Act 2 (6%).

Line counts act by act

Act Scenes Lines Speakers Density
Act 1 3 568 10
Act 2 7 550 13
Act 3 5 720 12
Act 4 3 404 8
Act 5 4 434 15

When each speaker first enters

  • Act 1 — 10 new speakers enter: Rosalind, Orlando, Celia, Touchstone, Oliver, Duke Frederick, Adam, Le Beau, Charles, Dennis
  • Act 2 — 7 new speakers enter: Jaques, Duke Senior, Silvius, Corin, First Lord, Amiens, Second Lord
  • Act 3 — 3 new speakers enter: Phebe, Audrey, Sir Oliver Martext
  • Act 4 — 2 new speakers enter: Forester, A Lord
  • Act 5 — 5 new speakers enter: Hymen, Second Page, Jaques De Boys, William, First Page

Scene length across the play

Across 22 scenes: 5 very short (under 50 lines), 10 short (50–149 lines), 6 mid-length (150–299 lines), 1 long (300+ lines).

The shortest scene runs 18 lines, the longest 409 lines, with a mean of about 122 lines per scene.

Line-length signature

Of 2,676 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 As You Like It

Scene Lines Speakers
Act 3, Scene 2 409 6
Act 1, Scene 2 268 7
Act 5, Scene 4 217 9
Act 2, Scene 7 205 6
Act 4, Scene 1 199 4

How As You Like It compares to Shakespeare’s other comedies

Play Year Lines Acts Scenes Speakers
As You Like It (this play) c. 1599 2,676 5 22 27
The Merchant of Venice c. 1597 2,665 5 19 23
Taming of the Shrew c. 1592 2,637 5 14 37
The Merry Wives of Windsor c. 1601 2,615 5 23 25
Much Ado About Nothing c. 1599 2,583 5 17 23

Common questions

How long is As You Like It?

2,676 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 22 scenes — roughly 122 lines per scene.

Who speaks the most in As You Like It?

Rosalind with 677 lines — about 25% of the play.

Which act of As You Like It is longest?

Act 3 runs 720 lines across 5 scenes — noticeably heavier than the play’s other acts.

Which female character has the most lines in As You Like It?

Rosalind with 677 lines — about 25% of the play’s dialogue.
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