Mitarai Digital Folio
History • c. 1599

Henry V

3,230Lines 5Acts 28Scenes 46Characters 95% / 5%Male / Female Lines

Henry V (c. 1599) fields a crowded stage: 46 named speakers share 3,230 lines across 5 acts and 28 scenes.

Opens (Act 1, Scene 0) — Chorus: “O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend”

Closes (Act 5, Scene 2) — Chorus: “In your fair minds let this acceptance take.”

Full cast of Henry V by line count

# Character Lines Share Acts Scenes
1 King Henry V ♂ 1,029 31.9% 5 11
2 Fluellen ♂ 281 8.7% 3 6
3 Canterbury ♂ 223 6.9% 1 2
4 Chorus ♂ 223 6.9% 5 6
5 Pistol ♂ 159 4.9% 4 7
6 Exeter ♂ 130 4.0% 4 8
7 Dauphin ♂ 115 3.6% 3 5
8 Constable ♂ 115 3.6% 3 5
9 King Of France ♂ 79 2.4% 3 3
10 Boy ♂ 72 2.2% 3 4
11 Williams ♂ 70 2.2% 1 3
12 Burgundy ♂ 68 2.1% 1 1
13 Gower ♂ 65 2.0% 3 6
14 Katharine ♀ 58 1.8% 2 2
15 Montjoy ♂ 53 1.6% 2 3
16 Nym ♂ 46 1.4% 2 3
17 Hostess ♀ 41 1.3% 1 2
18 Orleans ♂ 40 1.2% 2 3
19 Bardolph ♂ 29 0.9% 2 3
20 Westmoreland ♂ 27 0.8% 4 4
21 Ely ♂ 27 0.8% 1 2
22 Alice ♀ 27 0.8% 2 2
23 Queen Isabel ♀ 24 0.7% 1 1
24 Macmorris ♂ 20 0.6% 1 1
25 Grandpre ♂ 18 0.6% 1 1
…21 additional speaking roles with fewer than 18 lines

Line counts act by act

Act Scenes Lines Speakers Density
Act 1 3 451 7
Act 2 5 566 17
Act 3 8 700 22
Act 4 9 997 27
Act 5 3 516 14

When each speaker first enters

  • Act 1 — 7 new speakers enter: King Henry V, Canterbury, Chorus, Exeter, Westmoreland, Ely, First Ambassador
  • Act 2 — 13 new speakers enter: Pistol, Dauphin, Constable, King Of France, Boy, Nym, Hostess, Bardolph, Cambridge, Grey (+3 more)
  • Act 3 — 12 new speakers enter: Fluellen, Gower, Katharine, Montjoy, Orleans, Alice, Macmorris, Bourbon, Jamy, Rambures (+2 more)
  • Act 4 — 10 new speakers enter: Williams, Grandpre, Bates, French Soldier, Salisbury, Erpingham, Court, York, Herald, Warwick
  • Act 5 — 4 new speakers enter: Burgundy, Queen Isabel, French King, All

How male and female voices share Act 1 through Act 5

Act Male lines Female lines Female share Balance
Act 1 451 0 0%
Act 2 525 41 7%
Act 3 645 55 8%
Act 4 997 0 0%
Act 5 462 54 10%

Female voices peak in Act 5 (10% of the act’s dialogue) and are quietest in Act 1 (0%).

Scene length across the play

Across 28 scenes: 7 very short (under 50 lines), 14 short (50–149 lines), 4 mid-length (150–299 lines), 3 long (300+ lines).

The shortest scene runs 24 lines, the longest 386 lines, with a mean of about 115 lines per scene.

Line-length signature

Of 3,230 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 Henry V

Scene Lines Speakers
Act 5, Scene 2 386 11
Act 1, Scene 2 315 6
Act 4, Scene 1 307 9
Act 2, Scene 2 195 7
Act 4, Scene 7 180 7

How Henry V compares to Shakespeare’s other histories

Play Year Lines Acts Scenes Speakers
Henry V (this play) c. 1599 3,230 5 28 46
Henry VIII c. 1613 3,236 5 17 46
Henry IV, part 2 c. 1598 3,251 5 20 47
Henry VI, part 2 c. 1591 3,122 5 24 64
Henry IV, part 1 c. 1597 3,038 5 18 36

Common questions

How long is Henry V?

3,230 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 28 scenes — roughly 115 lines per scene.

Who speaks the most in Henry V?

King Henry V with 1,029 lines — about 32% of the play.

Which act of Henry V is longest?

Act 4 runs 997 lines across 9 scenes — noticeably heavier than the play’s other acts.
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