The Tempest: 2,278 Lines, 19 Characters, Act-by-Act Breakdown

The Tempest (c. 1611) is a romance with 2,278 lines of dialogue distributed across 5 acts and 9 scenes. 19 named characters speak at least once; the top five voices account for 60% of the play. Dialogue splits 84% male and 16% female.

The play opens (Act 1, Scene 1) with Master: “Good, speak to the mariners: fall to't, yarely,”

The play closes (Act 5, Scene 1) with Prospero: “Let your indulgence set me free.”

Full cast of The Tempest by line count

#	Character	Lines	Share	Acts
1	Prospero ♂	695	30.5%	4
2	Caliban ♂	175	7.7%	5
3	Ariel ♀	168	7.4%	5
4	Stephano ♂	163	7.2%	4
5	Gonzalo ♂	161	7.1%	4
6	Antonio ♂	148	6.5%	4
7	Ferdinand ♂	148	6.5%	4
8	Miranda ♀	142	6.2%	4
9	Sebastian ♂	120	5.3%	4
10	Alonso ♂	109	4.8%	4
11	Trinculo ♂	105	4.6%	4
12	Boatswain ♂	45	2.0%	2
13	Iris ♀	41	1.8%	1
14	Ceres ♀	24	1.1%	1
15	Adrian ♂	12	0.5%	2
16	Francisco ♂	11	0.5%	2
17	Juno ♂	7	0.3%	1
18	Master ♂	3	0.1%	1
19	Mariners ♂	1	0.0%	1

Line counts act by act

Act	Scenes	Lines	Speakers
Act 1	2	660	12
Act 2	2	555	10
Act 3	3	393	13
Act 4	1	287	10
Act 5	1	383	12

Longest scenes in The Tempest

Scene	Lines	Speakers
Act 1, Scene 2	595	5
Act 5, Scene 1	383	12
Act 2, Scene 1	366	7
Act 4, Scene 1	287	10
Act 2, Scene 2	189	3

Common questions

How long is The Tempest?

The Tempest contains 2,278 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 9 scenes — roughly 253 lines per scene on average.

Who speaks the most in The Tempest?

Prospero leads the cast with 695 lines — about 31% of the play.

Which act of The Tempest is longest?

Act 1 runs 660 lines across 2 scenes.

The Tempest