Love’s Labours Lost, Act 4
731Lines
3Scenes
14Speakers
90% / 10%Male / Female Lines
Act 4 of Love's Labours Lost runs 731 lines across 3 scenes with 14 speaking characters — about 25.5% of the full play.
Opens (Scene 1) — Princess: “Was that the king, that spurred his horse so hard”
Closes (Scene 3) — Biron: “If so, our copper buys no better treasure.”
The 3 scenes of Act 4
Who speaks in Act 4
Leading voice: Biron with 32% of Act 4’s dialogue (234 lines).
| Character | Lines in act | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Biron ♂ | 234 | 32.0% |
| Holofernes ♂ | 103 | 14.1% |
| Ferdinand ♂ | 77 | 10.5% |
| Boyet ♂ | 63 | 8.6% |
| Sir Nathaniel ♂ | 49 | 6.7% |
| Princess ♀ | 49 | 6.7% |
| Dumain ♂ | 45 | 6.2% |
Characters first heard in Act 4
| Character | Lines in play |
|---|---|
| Holofernes ♂ | 184 |
| Sir Nathaniel ♂ | 67 |
| Forester ♂ | 5 |
Pacing across the 3 scenes
Scene lengths in Act 4 range from Scene 1 (162 lines, the shortest) to Scene 3 (396 lines, the longest), averaging about 244 lines per scene.
Who carries the voice in Act 4
Act 4 is male-dominant even by the play’s standards — female share drops to 10%, compared to 20% overall.
Act 4
Male 655 · Female 76
How Act 4 of Love's Labours Lost compares to other comedies
| Play | Act 4 lines | Scenes |
|---|---|---|
| Love's Labours Lost (this act) | 731 | 3 |
| Taming of the Shrew | 708 | 5 |
| The Merry Wives of Windsor | 544 | 6 |
| The Merchant of Venice | 495 | 2 |
| The Comedy of Errors | 490 | 4 |
| Two Gentlemen of Verona | 474 | 4 |
| Much Ado About Nothing | 417 | 2 |
| As You Like It | 404 | 3 |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 265 | 2 |
| Twelfth Night | 223 | 3 |
About Act 4 of Love's Labours Lost
How many lines are in Act 4 of Love’s Labours Lost?
731 lines spread across 3 scenes.
Who dominates Act 4?
Biron delivers 32% of the act’s dialogue (234 lines).
Which scene is the heaviest in Act 4?
Scene 3, at 396 lines — well above the act’s scene average.