Mitarai Digital Folio
Tragedy • c. 1600

Hamlet

4,023Lines 5Acts 20Scenes 37Characters 91% / 9%Male / Female Lines

This is Hamlet’s play: one role carries 37% of the dialogue. Hamlet (c. 1600) runs 4,023 lines across 5 acts and 20 scenes, with 37 named speakers.

Opens (Act 1, Scene 1) — Francisco: “Nay, answer me: stand, and unfold yourself.”

Closes (Act 5, Scene 2) — Prince Fortinbras: “Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss.”

Full cast of Hamlet by line count

# Character Lines Share Acts Scenes
1 Hamlet ♂ 1,495 37.2% 5 13
2 King Claudius ♂ 546 13.6% 5 11
3 Lord Polonius ♂ 355 8.8% 3 8
4 Horatio ♂ 291 7.2% 4 9
5 Laertes ♂ 206 5.1% 3 6
6 Ophelia ♀ 173 4.3% 4 5
7 Queen Gertrude ♀ 157 3.9% 5 10
8 Ghost ♂ 95 2.4% 2 2
9 First Clown ♂ 94 2.3% 1 1
10 Marcellus ♂ 67 1.7% 1 4
11 First Player ♂ 52 1.3% 2 2
12 Osric ♂ 48 1.2% 1 1
13 Player King ♂ 44 1.1% 1 1
14 Bernardo ♂ 38 0.9% 1 2
15 Player Queen ♀ 30 0.7% 1 1
16 Prince Fortinbras ♂ 27 0.7% 2 2
17 Gentleman ♂ 24 0.6% 1 1
18 Voltimand ♂ 22 0.5% 2 2
19 Second Clown ♂ 18 0.4% 1 1
20 Reynaldo ♂ 15 0.4% 1 1
21 First Priest ♂ 13 0.3% 1 1
22 Captain ♂ 12 0.3% 1 1
23 Francisco ♂ 10 0.2% 1 1
24 Lord ♂ 7 0.2% 1 1
25 First Ambassador ♂ 6 0.1% 1 1
…10 additional speaking roles with fewer than 6 lines

Line-length signature

Of 4,023 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.

Line counts act by act

Act Scenes Lines Speakers Density
Act 1 5 921 14
Act 2 2 748 10
Act 3 4 930 15
Act 4 7 693 17
Act 5 2 731 13

Longest scenes in Hamlet

Scene Lines Speakers
Act 2, Scene 2 617 8
Act 5, Scene 2 424 10
Act 3, Scene 2 391 14
Act 5, Scene 1 307 9
Act 1, Scene 2 279 11

When each speaker first enters

  • Act 1 — 14 new speakers enter: Hamlet, King Claudius, Lord Polonius, Horatio, Laertes, Ophelia, Queen Gertrude, Ghost, Marcellus, Bernardo (+4 more)
  • Act 2 — 2 new speakers enter: First Player, Reynaldo
  • Act 3 — 4 new speakers enter: Player King, Player Queen, Lucianus, Prologue
  • Act 4 — 9 new speakers enter: Prince Fortinbras, Gentleman, Captain, Messenger, First Sailor, Danes, Servant, Rosencrantz:, Guildenstern:
  • Act 5 — 6 new speakers enter: First Clown, Osric, Second Clown, First Priest, Lord, First Ambassador

How male and female voices share Act 1 through Act 5

Act Male lines Female lines Female share Balance
Act 1 891 30 3%
Act 2 700 48 6%
Act 3 792 138 15%
Act 4 568 125 18%
Act 5 712 19 3%

Female voices peak in Act 4 (18% of the act’s dialogue) and are quietest in Act 1 (3%).

Scene length across the play

Across 20 scenes: 3 very short (under 50 lines), 6 short (50–149 lines), 7 mid-length (150–299 lines), 4 long (300+ lines).

The shortest scene runs 31 lines, the longest 617 lines, with a mean of about 201 lines per scene.

How Hamlet compares to Shakespeare’s other tragedies

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

Common questions

How long is Hamlet?

4,023 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 20 scenes — roughly 201 lines per scene.

Who speaks the most in Hamlet?

Hamlet with 1,495 lines — about 37% of the play.
More Tragedy