Mitarai Digital Folio
History • c. 1613

Henry VIII

3,236Lines 5Acts 17Scenes 46Characters 84% / 16%Male / Female Lines

Henry VIII (c. 1613) fields a crowded stage: 46 named speakers share 3,236 lines across 5 acts and 17 scenes.

Opens (Act 1, Scene 1) — Buckingham: “Good morrow, and well met. How have ye done”

Closes (Act 5, Scene 5) — King Henry Viii: “If they hold when their ladies bid 'em clap.”

Full cast of Henry VIII by line count

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

Line counts act by act

Act Scenes Lines Speakers Density
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

When each speaker first enters

  • Act 1 — 16 new speakers enter: King Henry Viii, Cardinal Wolsey, Queen Katharine, Norfolk, Buckingham, Chamberlain, Lovell, Anne, Surveyor, Sands (+6 more)
  • Act 2 — 11 new speakers enter: Second Gentleman, First Gentleman, Suffolk, Gardiner, Old Lady, Griffith, Cardinal Campeius, Lincoln, Vaux, Crier (+1 more)
  • Act 3 — 3 new speakers enter: Surrey, Cromwell, Gentleman
  • Act 4 — 6 new speakers enter: Katharine, Third Gentleman, Capucius, Patience, Messenger, Both
  • Act 5 — 10 new speakers enter: Cranmer, Man, Porter, Chancellor, Doctor Butts, Keeper, Denny, Garter, Boy, All

How male and female voices share Act 1 through Act 5

Act Male lines Female lines Female share Balance
Act 1 674 58 8%
Act 2 560 192 26%
Act 3 601 136 18%
Act 4 242 120 33%
Act 5 636 17 3%

Female voices peak in Act 4 (33% of the act’s dialogue) and are quietest in Act 5 (3%).

Scene length across the play

Across 17 scenes: 1 very short (under 50 lines), 5 short (50–149 lines), 10 mid-length (150–299 lines), 1 long (300+ lines).

The shortest scene runs 41 lines, the longest 535 lines, with a mean of about 190 lines per scene.

Line-length signature

Of 3,236 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 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

How Henry VIII compares to Shakespeare’s other histories

Play Year Lines Acts Scenes Speakers
Henry VIII (this play) c. 1613 3,236 5 17 46
Henry V c. 1599 3,230 5 28 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 VIII?

3,236 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 17 scenes — roughly 190 lines per scene.

Who speaks the most in Henry VIII?

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

Which female character has the most lines in Henry VIII?

Queen Katharine with 277 lines — about 9% of the play’s dialogue.
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