Comedy • c. 1595
Love's Labours Lost
5 Acts
9 Scenes
2,862 Lines
Comedy • c. 1601
The Merry Wives of Windsor
2,615Lines
5Acts
23Scenes
25Characters
83% / 17%Male / Female Lines
Written in Shakespeare’s middle-period career (c. 1601), The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy of 2,615 lines, 5 acts and 23 scenes with 25 speaking roles.
Opens (Act 1, Scene 1) — Shallow: “Sir Hugh, persuade me not; I will make a Star-”
Closes (Act 5, Scene 5) — Ford: “For he tonight shall lie with Mistress Ford.”
Full cast of The Merry Wives of Windsor by line count
| # | Character | Lines | Share | Acts | Scenes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Falstaff ♂ | 433 | 16.6% | 5 | 9 |
| 2 | Mistress Page ♂ | 306 | 11.7% | 4 | 9 |
| 3 | Ford ♂ | 305 | 11.7% | 4 | 9 |
| 4 | Mistress Quickly ♀ | 262 | 10.0% | 5 | 9 |
| 5 | Sir Hugh Evans ♂ | 222 | 8.5% | 4 | 10 |
| 6 | Mistress Ford ♀ | 167 | 6.4% | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | Page ♂ | 144 | 5.5% | 5 | 11 |
| 8 | Slender ♂ | 141 | 5.4% | 4 | 7 |
| 9 | Shallow ♂ | 114 | 4.4% | 5 | 8 |
| 10 | Host ♂ | 107 | 4.1% | 4 | 8 |
| 11 | Fenton ♂ | 94 | 3.6% | 4 | 4 |
| 12 | Doctor Caius ♂ | 94 | 3.6% | 5 | 8 |
| 13 | Pistol ♂ | 57 | 2.2% | 3 | 5 |
| 14 | Simple ♂ | 49 | 1.9% | 3 | 5 |
| 15 | Nym ♂ | 28 | 1.1% | 2 | 3 |
| 16 | Anne Page ♀ | 28 | 1.1% | 3 | 3 |
| 17 | Bardolph ♂ | 23 | 0.9% | 4 | 6 |
| 18 | Robin ♂ | 13 | 0.5% | 2 | 3 |
| 19 | William Page ♂ | 12 | 0.5% | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Rugby ♂ | 10 | 0.4% | 2 | 2 |
| 21 | First Servant ♂ | 2 | 0.1% | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | All ♂ | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | & C ♂ | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | 1 |
| 24 | Second Servant ♂ | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | Servant ♂ | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | 1 |
Scene length across the play
Across 23 scenes: 6 very short (under 50 lines), 11 short (50–149 lines), 6 mid-length (150–299 lines).
The shortest scene runs 4 lines, the longest 295 lines, with a mean of about 114 lines per scene.
Line counts act by act
| Act | Scenes | Lines | Speakers | Density |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act 1 | 4 | 528 | 15 | |
| Act 2 | 3 | 592 | 15 | |
| Act 3 | 5 | 645 | 19 | |
| Act 4 | 6 | 544 | 16 | |
| Act 5 | 5 | 306 | 13 |
Longest scenes in The Merry Wives of Windsor
| Scene | Lines | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| Act 2, Scene 2 | 295 | 6 |
| Act 1, Scene 1 | 274 | 10 |
| Act 5, Scene 5 | 236 | 12 |
| Act 2, Scene 1 | 211 | 9 |
| Act 3, Scene 3 | 207 | 9 |
How male and female voices share Act 1 through Act 5
| Act | Male lines | Female lines | Female share | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act 1 | 432 | 96 | 18% | |
| Act 2 | 481 | 111 | 19% | |
| Act 3 | 540 | 105 | 16% | |
| Act 4 | 459 | 85 | 16% | |
| Act 5 | 246 | 60 | 20% |
Female voices peak in Act 5 (20% of the act’s dialogue) and are quietest in Act 3 (16%).
When each speaker first enters
- Act 1 — 15 new speakers enter: Falstaff, Mistress Quickly, Sir Hugh Evans, Page, Slender, Shallow, Host, Fenton, Doctor Caius, Pistol (+5 more)
- Act 2 — 4 new speakers enter: Mistress Page, Ford, Mistress Ford, Robin
- Act 3 — 3 new speakers enter: All, & C, Servant
- Act 4 — 3 new speakers enter: William Page, First Servant, Second Servant
Line-length signature
Of 2,615 total lines: 99% short (under 60 characters, typical of quickfire exchanges), 1% 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 The Merry Wives of Windsor compares to Shakespeare’s other comedies
| Play | Year | Lines | Acts | Scenes | Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Merry Wives of Windsor (this play) | c. 1601 | 2,615 | 5 | 23 | 25 |
| Taming of the Shrew | c. 1592 | 2,637 | 5 | 14 | 37 |
| Much Ado About Nothing | c. 1599 | 2,583 | 5 | 17 | 23 |
| The Merchant of Venice | c. 1597 | 2,665 | 5 | 19 | 23 |
| As You Like It | c. 1599 | 2,676 | 5 | 22 | 27 |
Common questions
How long is The Merry Wives of Windsor?
2,615 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 23 scenes — roughly 114 lines per scene.
Who speaks the most in The Merry Wives of Windsor?
Falstaff with 433 lines — about 17% of the play.