Act 4 of Coriolanus runs 707 lines across 7 scenes with 24 speaking characters — about 18.8% of the full play.
Opens (Scene 1) — Coriolanus: “Come, leave your tears: a brief farewell: the beast”
Closes (Scene 7) — Aufidius: “Thou art poor'st of all; then shortly art thou mine.”
The 7 scenes of Act 4
| Scene | Lines | Speakers | Share of act |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scene 1 | 64 | 5 | 9.1% |
| Scene 2 | 70 | 5 | 9.9% |
| Scene 3 | 49 | 2 | 6.9% |
| Scene 4 | 30 | 2 | 4.2% |
| Scene 5 | 236 | 6 | 33.4% |
| Scene 6 | 199 | 12 | 28.1% |
| Scene 7 | 59 | 2 | 8.3% |
Who speaks in Act 4
Leading voice: Coriolanus with 19% of Act 4’s dialogue (134 lines).
| Character | Lines in act | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Coriolanus ♂ | 134 | 19.0% |
| Aufidius ♂ | 104 | 14.7% |
| Menenius ♂ | 67 | 9.5% |
| Sicinius ♂ | 56 | 7.9% |
| Third Servingman ♂ | 49 | 6.9% |
| Cominius ♂ | 47 | 6.6% |
| Volumnia ♀ | 42 | 5.9% |
Characters first heard in Act 4
| Character | Lines in play |
|---|---|
| Third Servingman ♂ | 49 |
| Second Servingman ♂ | 35 |
| First Servingman ♂ | 31 |
| Roman ♂ | 29 |
| Volsce ♂ | 20 |
| Second Messenger ♂ | 20 |
Pacing across the 7 scenes
Scene lengths in Act 4 range from Scene 4 (30 lines, the shortest) to Scene 5 (236 lines, the longest), averaging about 101 lines per scene.
How Act 4 of Coriolanus compares to other tragedies
| Play | Act 4 lines | Scenes |
|---|---|---|
| King Lear | 763 | 7 |
| Coriolanus (this act) | 707 | 7 |
| Antony and Cleopatra | 695 | 15 |
| Hamlet | 693 | 7 |
| Othello | 691 | 3 |
| Timon of Athens | 626 | 3 |
| Macbeth | 548 | 3 |
| Titus Andronicus | 547 | 4 |
| Julius Caesar | 461 | 3 |
| Romeo and Juliet | 407 | 5 |
About Act 4 of Coriolanus
How many lines are in Act 4 of Coriolanus?
707 lines spread across 7 scenes.
Which scene is the heaviest in Act 4?
Scene 5, at 236 lines — well above the act’s scene average.