Mitarai Digital Folio
Comedy • c. 1597

The Merchant of Venice

2,665Lines 5Acts 19Scenes 23Characters 72% / 28%Male / Female Lines

Unusually for a Shakespeare comedy, women carry 28% of the dialogue in The Merchant of Venice (c. 1597) — 2,665 lines in total across 5 acts and 23 speaking characters.

Opens (Act 1, Scene 1) — Antonio: “In sooth, I know not why I am so sad:”

Closes (Act 5, Scene 1) — Gratiano: “So sore as keeping safe Nerissa's ring.”

Full cast of The Merchant of Venice by line count

# Character Lines Share Acts Scenes
1 Portia ♀ 589 22.1% 5 9
2 Shylock ♂ 355 13.3% 4 5
3 Bassanio ♂ 336 12.6% 5 6
4 Antonio ♂ 189 7.1% 5 6
5 Lorenzo ♂ 179 6.7% 4 7
6 Gratiano ♂ 175 6.6% 5 8
7 Launcelot ♂ 168 6.3% 3 6
8 Salarino ♂ 104 3.9% 3 6
9 Morocco ♂ 103 3.9% 1 2
10 Jessica ♀ 86 3.2% 3 7
11 Nerissa ♀ 84 3.2% 5 7
12 Arragon ♂ 65 2.4% 1 1
13 Duke ♂ 57 2.1% 1 1
14 Salanio ♂ 56 2.1% 3 4
15 Gobbo ♂ 37 1.4% 1 1
16 Salerio ♂ 24 0.9% 2 2
17 Servant ♂ 17 0.6% 3 3
18 Clerk ♂ 17 0.6% 1 1
19 Tubal ♂ 12 0.5% 1 1
20 Stephano ♂ 8 0.3% 1 1
21 Leonardo ♂ 2 0.1% 1 1
22 All ♂ 1 0.0% 1 1
23 Balthasar ♂ 1 0.0% 1 1

How male and female voices share Act 1 through Act 5

Act Male lines Female lines Female share Balance
Act 1 376 124 25%
Act 2 587 90 13%
Act 3 429 238 36%
Act 4 335 160 32%
Act 5 179 147 45%

Female voices peak in Act 5 (45% of the act’s dialogue) and are quietest in Act 2 (13%).

Line counts act by act

Act Scenes Lines Speakers Density
Act 1 2 500 10
Act 2 9 677 16
Act 3 5 667 16
Act 4 2 495 9
Act 5 1 326 9

When each speaker first enters

  • Act 1 — 10 new speakers enter: Portia, Shylock, Bassanio, Antonio, Lorenzo, Gratiano, Salarino, Nerissa, Salanio, Servant
  • Act 2 — 6 new speakers enter: Launcelot, Morocco, Jessica, Arragon, Gobbo, Leonardo
  • Act 3 — 4 new speakers enter: Salerio, Tubal, All, Balthasar
  • Act 4 — 2 new speakers enter: Duke, Clerk
  • Act 5 — 1 new speaker enter: Stephano

Scene length across the play

Across 19 scenes: 5 very short (under 50 lines), 8 short (50–149 lines), 2 mid-length (150–299 lines), 4 long (300+ lines).

The shortest scene runs 21 lines, the longest 473 lines, with a mean of about 140 lines per scene.

Line-length signature

Of 2,665 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.

Longest scenes in The Merchant of Venice

Scene Lines Speakers
Act 4, Scene 1 473 9
Act 3, Scene 2 336 8
Act 5, Scene 1 326 9
Act 1, Scene 1 317 9
Act 2, Scene 2 201 5

How The Merchant of Venice compares to Shakespeare’s other comedies

Play Year Lines Acts Scenes Speakers
The Merchant of Venice (this play) c. 1597 2,665 5 19 23
As You Like It c. 1599 2,676 5 22 27
Taming of the Shrew c. 1592 2,637 5 14 37
The Merry Wives of Windsor c. 1601 2,615 5 23 25
Much Ado About Nothing c. 1599 2,583 5 17 23

Common questions

How long is The Merchant of Venice?

2,665 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 19 scenes — roughly 140 lines per scene.

Who speaks the most in The Merchant of Venice?

Portia with 589 lines — about 22% of the play.

Which act of The Merchant of Venice is longest?

Act 2 runs 677 lines across 9 scenes — noticeably heavier than the play’s other acts.

Which female character has the most lines in The Merchant of Venice?

Portia with 589 lines — about 22% of the play’s dialogue.
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