Act 3 of King Lear runs 630 lines across 7 scenes with 14 speaking characters — about 18.0% of the full play.
Opens (Scene 1) — Kent: “Who's there, besides foul weather?”
Closes (Scene 7) — Third Servant: “To apply to his bleeding face. Now, heaven help him!”
The 7 scenes of Act 3
| Scene | Lines | Speakers | Share of act |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scene 1 | 58 | 2 | 9.2% |
| Scene 2 | 100 | 3 | 15.9% |
| Scene 3 | 25 | 2 | 4.0% |
| Scene 4 | 187 | 5 | 29.7% |
| Scene 5 | 25 | 2 | 4.0% |
| Scene 6 | 117 | 5 | 18.6% |
| Scene 7 | 118 | 8 | 18.7% |
Who speaks in Act 3
Leading voice: King Lear with 22% of Act 3’s dialogue (141 lines).
| Character | Lines in act | Share |
|---|---|---|
| King Lear ♂ | 141 | 22.4% |
| Edgar ♂ | 114 | 18.1% |
| Kent ♂ | 90 | 14.3% |
| Gloucester ♂ | 90 | 14.3% |
| Fool ♂ | 62 | 9.8% |
| Cornwall ♂ | 50 | 7.9% |
| Edmund ♂ | 20 | 3.2% |
Characters first heard in Act 3
| Character | Lines in play |
|---|---|
| First Servant ♂ | 9 |
| Third Servant ♂ | 5 |
| Second Servant ♂ | 5 |
Pacing across the 7 scenes
Scene lengths in Act 3 range from Scene 3 (25 lines, the shortest) to Scene 4 (187 lines, the longest), averaging about 90 lines per scene.
Who carries the voice in Act 3
Act 3 is male-dominant even by the play’s standards — female share drops to 3%, compared to 15% overall.
Act 3
Male 609 · Female 21
How Act 3 of King Lear compares to other tragedies
| Play | Act 3 lines | Scenes |
|---|---|---|
| Hamlet | 930 | 4 |
| Antony and Cleopatra | 885 | 13 |
| Othello | 826 | 4 |
| Romeo and Juliet | 821 | 5 |
| Coriolanus | 764 | 3 |
| Julius Caesar | 633 | 3 |
| King Lear (this act) | 630 | 7 |
| Timon of Athens | 577 | 6 |
| Macbeth | 509 | 6 |
| Titus Andronicus | 388 | 2 |
About Act 3 of King Lear
How many lines are in Act 3 of King Lear?
630 lines spread across 7 scenes.
Who dominates Act 3?
King Lear delivers 22% of the act’s dialogue (141 lines).
Which scene is the heaviest in Act 3?
Scene 4, at 187 lines — well above the act’s scene average.