Love's Labours Lost: 2,862 Lines, 21 Characters, Act-by-Act Breakdown

Love's Labours Lost (c. 1595) is a comedy with 2,862 lines of dialogue distributed across 5 acts and 9 scenes. 21 named characters speak at least once; the top five voices account for 59% of the play. Dialogue splits 80% male and 20% female.

The play opens (Act 1, Scene 1) with Ferdinand: “Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives,”

The play closes (Act 5, Scene 2) with Adriano De Armado: “Apollo. You that way: we this way.”

Full cast of Love's Labours Lost by line count

#	Character	Lines	Share	Acts
1	Biron ♂	599	20.9%	5
2	Ferdinand ♂	315	11.0%	4
3	Princess ♀	287	10.0%	3
4	Adriano De Armado ♂	266	9.3%	3
5	Boyet ♂	233	8.1%	3
6	Costard ♂	203	7.1%	4
7	Moth ♂	201	7.0%	3
8	Holofernes ♂	184	6.4%	2
9	Rosaline ♀	172	6.0%	3
10	Dumain ♂	93	3.2%	4
11	Longaville ♂	69	2.4%	4
12	Sir Nathaniel ♂	67	2.3%	2
13	Katharine ♀	46	1.6%	2
14	Maria ♀	43	1.5%	3
15	Dull ♂	30	1.0%	3
16	Jaquenetta ♀	22	0.8%	2
17	Here Stand I ♂	20	0.7%	1
18	Forester ♂	5	0.2%	1
19	Mercade ♂	4	0.1%	1
20	First Lord ♂	2	0.1%	1
21	Armado ♂	1	0.0%	1

Line counts act by act

Act	Scenes	Lines	Speakers
Act 1	2	513	10
Act 2	1	269	10
Act 3	1	223	4
Act 4	3	731	14
Act 5	2	1,126	17

Longest scenes in Love's Labours Lost

Scene	Lines	Speakers
Act 5, Scene 2	971	16
Act 4, Scene 3	396	6
Act 1, Scene 1	301	6
Act 2, Scene 1	269	10
Act 3, Scene 1	223	4

Common questions

How long is Love’s Labours Lost?

Love's Labours Lost contains 2,862 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 9 scenes — roughly 318 lines per scene on average.

Who speaks the most in Love’s Labours Lost?

Biron leads the cast with 599 lines — about 21% of the play.

Which act of Love’s Labours Lost is longest?

Act 5 runs 1,126 lines across 2 scenes.

Love’s Labours Lost