Mitarai Digital Folio
Tragedy • c. 1599

Julius Caesar

2,599Lines 5Acts 18Scenes 51Characters 95% / 5%Male / Female Lines

Julius Caesar (c. 1599) fields a crowded stage: 51 named speakers share 2,599 lines across 5 acts and 18 scenes.

Opens (Act 1, Scene 1) — Flavius: “Hence! home, you idle creatures get you home:”

Closes (Act 5, Scene 5) — Octavius: “To part the glories of this happy day.”

Full cast of Julius Caesar by line count

# Character Lines Share Acts Scenes
1 Brutus ♂ 728 28.0% 5 12
2 Cassius ♂ 525 20.2% 5 8
3 Antony ♂ 329 12.7% 5 8
4 Caesar ♂ 135 5.2% 3 3
5 Casca ♂ 133 5.1% 3 4
6 Portia ♀ 92 3.5% 1 2
7 Octavius ♂ 46 1.8% 2 3
8 Decius Brutus ♂ 44 1.7% 2 3
9 Messala ♂ 39 1.5% 2 4
10 Lucius ♂ 33 1.3% 2 3
11 Titinius ♂ 32 1.2% 2 2
12 Marullus ♂ 31 1.2% 1 1
13 Servant ♂ 30 1.2% 2 3
14 Calpurnia ♀ 27 1.0% 2 2
15 Lucilius ♂ 26 1.0% 2 5
16 Flavius ♂ 24 0.9% 1 1
17 First Citizen ♂ 22 0.8% 1 2
18 Third Citizen ♂ 22 0.8% 1 2
19 Second Citizen ♂ 21 0.8% 1 2
20 Fourth Citizen ♂ 20 0.8% 1 2
21 Artemidorus ♂ 19 0.7% 2 2
22 Soothsayer ♂ 18 0.7% 3 3
23 Cinna ♂ 18 0.7% 3 3
24 Pindarus ♂ 17 0.7% 2 2
25 Metellus Cimber ♂ 17 0.7% 2 2
…26 additional speaking roles with fewer than 17 lines

Line counts act by act

Act Scenes Lines Speakers Density
Act 1 3 574 14
Act 2 4 552 17
Act 3 3 633 22
Act 4 3 461 17
Act 5 5 379 16

How male and female voices share Act 1 through Act 5

Act Male lines Female lines Female share Balance
Act 1 573 1 0%
Act 2 434 118 21%
Act 3 633 0 0%
Act 4 461 0 0%
Act 5 379 0 0%

Female voices peak in Act 2 (21% of the act’s dialogue) and are quietest in Act 1 (0%).

Scene length across the play

Across 18 scenes: 4 very short (under 50 lines), 8 short (50–149 lines), 2 mid-length (150–299 lines), 4 long (300+ lines).

The shortest scene runs 6 lines, the longest 350 lines, with a mean of about 144 lines per scene.

When each speaker first enters

  • Act 1 — 14 new speakers enter: Brutus, Cassius, Antony, Caesar, Casca, Marullus, Calpurnia, Flavius, Soothsayer, Cinna (+4 more)
  • Act 2 — 9 new speakers enter: Portia, Decius Brutus, Lucius, Servant, Artemidorus, Metellus Cimber, Ligarius, Trebonius, Publius
  • Act 3 — 9 new speakers enter: First Citizen, Third Citizen, Second Citizen, Fourth Citizen, Cinna The Poet, All, Popilius, Several Citizens, Citizens
  • Act 4 — 13 new speakers enter: Octavius, Messala, Titinius, Lucilius, Pindarus, Poet, Varro, First Soldier, Claudius, Lepidus (+3 more)
  • Act 5 — 6 new speakers enter: Clitus, Cato, Strato, Messenger, Volumnius, Dardanius

Line-length signature

Of 2,599 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 Julius Caesar

Scene Lines Speakers
Act 2, Scene 1 350 10
Act 4, Scene 3 350 10
Act 1, Scene 2 329 7
Act 3, Scene 1 317 14
Act 3, Scene 2 281 10

How Julius Caesar compares to Shakespeare’s other tragedies

Play Year Lines Acts Scenes Speakers
Julius Caesar (this play) c. 1599 2,599 5 18 51
Titus Andronicus c. 1594 2,553 5 14 27
Timon of Athens c. 1607 2,451 5 17 54
Macbeth c. 1606 2,385 5 28 41
Romeo and Juliet c. 1595 3,079 5 25 35

Common questions

How long is Julius Caesar?

2,599 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 18 scenes — roughly 144 lines per scene.

Who speaks the most in Julius Caesar?

Brutus with 728 lines — about 28% of the play.
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