Othello: 3,558 Lines, 28 Characters, Act-by-Act Breakdown

Othello (c. 1604) is a tragedy with 3,558 lines of dialogue distributed across 5 acts and 15 scenes. 28 named characters speak at least once; the top five voices account for 81% of the play. Dialogue splits 81% male and 19% female.

The play opens (Act 1, Scene 1) with Roderigo: “Tush! never tell me; I take it much unkindly”

The play closes (Act 5, Scene 2) with Lodovico: “This heavy act with heavy heart relate.”

Full cast of Othello by line count

#	Character	Lines	Share	Acts
1	Iago ♂	1,098	30.9%	5
2	Othello ♂	887	24.9%	5
3	Desdemona ♀	388	10.9%	5
4	Cassio ♂	277	7.8%	5
5	Emilia ♀	245	6.9%	4
6	Brabantio ♂	139	3.9%	1
7	Roderigo ♂	114	3.2%	4
8	Lodovico ♂	76	2.1%	2
9	Duke Of Venice ♂	73	2.1%	1
10	Montano ♂	61	1.7%	2
11	Bianca ♀	34	1.0%	3
12	Gratiano ♂	32	0.9%	1
13	Clown ♂	27	0.8%	1
14	First Senator ♂	26	0.7%	1
15	Third Gentleman ♂	17	0.5%	1
16	Second Gentleman ♂	12	0.3%	1
17	Herald ♂	12	0.3%	1
18	Messenger ♂	9	0.3%	1
19	First Musician ♂	5	0.1%	1
20	Second Senator ♂	5	0.1%	1
21	First Officer ♂	5	0.1%	1
22	Sailor ♂	4	0.1%	1
23	First Gentleman ♂	3	0.1%	1
24	Fourth Gentleman ♂	2	0.1%	1
25	Senator ♂	2	0.1%	1
…3 additional speaking roles with fewer than 2 lines

Line counts act by act

Act	Scenes	Lines	Speakers
Act 1	3	739	13
Act 2	3	735	14
Act 3	4	826	9
Act 4	3	691	8
Act 5	2	567	11

Longest scenes in Othello

Scene	Lines	Speakers
Act 3, Scene 3	533	5
Act 1, Scene 3	427	12
Act 5, Scene 2	423	9
Act 2, Scene 3	390	7
Act 2, Scene 1	333	12

Common questions

How long is Othello?

Othello contains 3,558 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 15 scenes — roughly 237 lines per scene on average.

Who speaks the most in Othello?

Iago leads the cast with 1,098 lines — about 31% of the play.

Which act of Othello is longest?

Act 3 runs 826 lines across 4 scenes.

Othello