Henry VIII: 3,236 Lines, 46 Characters, Act-by-Act Breakdown

Henry VIII (c. 1613) is a history with 3,236 lines of dialogue distributed across 5 acts and 17 scenes. 46 named characters speak at least once; the top five voices account for 49% of the play. Dialogue splits 84% male and 16% female.

The play opens (Act 1, Scene 1) with Buckingham: “Good morrow, and well met. How have ye done”

The play closes (Act 5, Scene 5) with King Henry Viii: “If they hold when their ladies bid 'em clap.”

Full cast of Henry VIII by line count

#	Character	Lines	Share	Acts
1	King Henry Viii ♂	476	14.7%	4
2	Cardinal Wolsey ♂	439	13.6%	3
3	Queen Katharine ♀	277	8.6%	3
4	Norfolk ♂	212	6.6%	4
5	Buckingham ♂	192	5.9%	2
6	Chamberlain ♂	151	4.7%	4
7	Cranmer ♂	136	4.2%	1
8	Second Gentleman ♂	115	3.6%	2
9	Katharine ♀	114	3.5%	1
10	First Gentleman ♂	107	3.3%	2
11	Suffolk ♂	93	2.9%	3
12	Gardiner ♂	92	2.8%	2
13	Surrey ♂	82	2.5%	2
14	Lovell ♂	68	2.1%	3
15	Old Lady ♀	64	2.0%	2
16	Anne ♀	62	1.9%	2
17	Surveyor ♂	61	1.9%	1
18	Griffith ♂	59	1.8%	2
19	Third Gentleman ♂	57	1.8%	1
20	Cardinal Campeius ♂	53	1.6%	2
21	Cromwell ♂	49	1.5%	2
22	Sands ♂	48	1.5%	1
23	Man ♂	41	1.3%	1
24	Porter ♂	36	1.1%	1
25	Chancellor ♂	32	1.0%	1
…21 additional speaking roles with fewer than 32 lines

Line counts act by act

Act	Scenes	Lines	Speakers
Act 1	4	732	16
Act 2	4	752	19
Act 3	2	737	10
Act 4	2	362	9
Act 5	5	653	20

Longest scenes in Henry VIII

Scene	Lines	Speakers
Act 3, Scene 2	535	7
Act 1, Scene 1	267	7
Act 2, Scene 4	259	8
Act 1, Scene 2	245	5
Act 5, Scene 3	211	11

Common questions

How long is Henry VIII?

Henry VIII contains 3,236 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 17 scenes — roughly 190 lines per scene on average.

Who speaks the most in Henry VIII?

King Henry Viii leads the cast with 476 lines — about 15% of the play.

Which act of Henry VIII is longest?

Act 2 runs 752 lines across 4 scenes.

Henry VIII