Romance • c. 1610
Cymbeline
5 Acts
26 Scenes
3,755 Lines
Romance • c. 1608
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
2,416Lines
5Acts
22Scenes
46Characters
80% / 20%Male / Female Lines
Pericles, Prince of Tyre (c. 1608) fields a crowded stage: 46 named speakers share 2,416 lines across 5 acts and 22 scenes.
Opens (Act 1, Scene 1) — Antiochus: “Young prince of Tyre, you have at large received”
Closes (Act 5, Scene 6) — Gower: “Shall be discover'd; please you, sit and hark.”
Full cast of Pericles, Prince of Tyre by line count
| # | Character | Lines | Share | Acts | Scenes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pericles ♂ | 609 | 25.2% | 4 | 10 |
| 2 | Gower ♂ | 270 | 11.2% | 4 | 7 |
| 3 | Marina ♀ | 186 | 7.7% | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | Simonides ♂ | 157 | 6.5% | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Helicanus ♂ | 123 | 5.1% | 3 | 5 |
| 6 | Cleon ♂ | 110 | 4.6% | 3 | 3 |
| 7 | Cerimon ♂ | 109 | 4.5% | 2 | 3 |
| 8 | Lysimachus ♂ | 103 | 4.3% | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | Bawd ♀ | 99 | 4.1% | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | Dionyza ♀ | 90 | 3.7% | 3 | 4 |
| 11 | Thaisa ♀ | 81 | 3.4% | 3 | 6 |
| 12 | Boult ♂ | 79 | 3.3% | 1 | 2 |
| 13 | Antiochus ♂ | 69 | 2.9% | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | First Fisherman ♂ | 38 | 1.6% | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | Pandar ♂ | 28 | 1.2% | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | Second Fisherman ♂ | 28 | 1.2% | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | Thaliard ♂ | 27 | 1.1% | 1 | 2 |
| 18 | First Lord ♂ | 26 | 1.1% | 3 | 4 |
| 19 | Leonine ♂ | 24 | 1.0% | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | First Gentleman ♂ | 24 | 1.0% | 3 | 3 |
| 21 | Third Fisherman ♂ | 18 | 0.7% | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | Second Gentleman ♂ | 18 | 0.7% | 2 | 2 |
| 23 | Second Lord ♂ | 11 | 0.5% | 2 | 3 |
| 24 | Lychorida ♀ | 11 | 0.5% | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | Tyrian Sailor ♂ | 10 | 0.4% | 1 | 1 |
| …21 additional speaking roles with fewer than 10 lines | |||||
When each speaker first enters
- Act 1 — 12 new speakers enter: Pericles, Helicanus, Cleon, Dionyza, Antiochus, Thaliard, First Lord, Second Lord, Lord, All (+2 more)
- Act 2 — 14 new speakers enter: Gower, Simonides, Thaisa, First Fisherman, Second Fisherman, Third Fisherman, First Knight, Third Lord, Knights, Escanes (+4 more)
- Act 3 — 9 new speakers enter: Cerimon, First Gentleman, Second Gentleman, Lychorida, First Sailor, First Servant, Second Sailor, Servant, Philemon
- Act 4 — 9 new speakers enter: Marina, Lysimachus, Bawd, Boult, Pandar, Leonine, Third Pirate, First Pirate, Second Pirate
- Act 5 — 2 new speakers enter: Tyrian Sailor, Diana
Line counts act by act
| Act | Scenes | Lines | Speakers | Density |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act 1 | 4 | 459 | 12 | |
| Act 2 | 5 | 544 | 19 | |
| Act 3 | 4 | 342 | 14 | |
| Act 4 | 6 | 612 | 14 | |
| Act 5 | 3 | 459 | 11 |
How male and female voices share Act 1 through Act 5
| Act | Male lines | Female lines | Female share | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act 1 | 448 | 11 | 2% | |
| Act 2 | 497 | 47 | 9% | |
| Act 3 | 313 | 29 | 8% | |
| Act 4 | 320 | 292 | 48% | |
| Act 5 | 359 | 100 | 22% |
Female voices peak in Act 4 (48% of the act’s dialogue) and are quietest in Act 1 (2%).
Scene length across the play
Across 22 scenes: 5 very short (under 50 lines), 13 short (50–149 lines), 3 mid-length (150–299 lines), 1 long (300+ lines).
The shortest scene runs 9 lines, the longest 321 lines, with a mean of about 110 lines per scene.
Longest scenes in Pericles, Prince of Tyre
| Scene | Lines | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| Act 5, Scene 1 | 321 | 9 |
| Act 4, Scene 6 | 187 | 5 |
| Act 1, Scene 1 | 177 | 5 |
| Act 2, Scene 1 | 162 | 4 |
| Act 3, Scene 5 | 148 | 5 |
Line-length signature
Of 2,416 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.
How Pericles, Prince of Tyre compares to Shakespeare’s other romances
| Play | Year | Lines | Acts | Scenes | Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pericles, Prince of Tyre (this play) | c. 1608 | 2,416 | 5 | 22 | 46 |
| The Tempest | c. 1611 | 2,278 | 5 | 9 | 19 |
| Winter's Tale | c. 1611 | 3,362 | 5 | 14 | 35 |
| Cymbeline | c. 1610 | 3,755 | 5 | 26 | 40 |
Common questions
How long is Pericles, Prince of Tyre?
2,416 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 22 scenes — roughly 110 lines per scene.
Who speaks the most in Pericles, Prince of Tyre?
Pericles with 609 lines — about 25% of the play.
Which act of Pericles, Prince of Tyre is longest?
Act 4 runs 612 lines across 6 scenes — noticeably heavier than the play’s other acts.
Which female character has the most lines in Pericles, Prince of Tyre?
Marina with 186 lines — about 8% of the play’s dialogue.