Tragedy • c. 1600
Hamlet
5 Acts
20 Scenes
4,023 Lines
Tragedy • c. 1607
Timon of Athens
2,451Lines
5Acts
17Scenes
54Characters
99% / 1%Male / Female Lines
Timon of Athens (c. 1607) fields a crowded stage: 54 named speakers share 2,451 lines across 5 acts and 17 scenes.
Opens (Act 1, Scene 1) — Poet: “I have not seen you long: how goes the world?”
Closes (Act 5, Scene 4) — Alcibiades: “Prescribe to other as each other's leech.”
Full cast of Timon of Athens by line count
| # | Character | Lines | Share | Acts | Scenes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timon ♂ | 824 | 33.6% | 5 | 8 |
| 2 | Apemantus ♂ | 247 | 10.1% | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | Flavius ♂ | 209 | 8.5% | 5 | 6 |
| 4 | Alcibiades ♂ | 163 | 6.7% | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Poet ♂ | 104 | 4.2% | 2 | 2 |
| 6 | First Senator ♂ | 90 | 3.7% | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | Painter ♂ | 66 | 2.7% | 2 | 2 |
| 8 | Second Senator ♂ | 62 | 2.5% | 2 | 4 |
| 9 | Lucilius ♂ | 45 | 1.8% | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | First Lord ♂ | 44 | 1.8% | 2 | 3 |
| 11 | Second Lord ♂ | 43 | 1.8% | 2 | 3 |
| 12 | Senator ♂ | 35 | 1.4% | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Lucullus ♂ | 33 | 1.3% | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | First Stranger ♂ | 31 | 1.3% | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | Flaminius ♂ | 31 | 1.3% | 2 | 3 |
| 16 | Caphis ♂ | 30 | 1.2% | 1 | 2 |
| 17 | Old Athenian ♂ | 29 | 1.2% | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | Servant ♂ | 29 | 1.2% | 2 | 3 |
| 19 | Sempronius ♂ | 27 | 1.1% | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Fool ♂ | 24 | 1.0% | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | Servilius ♂ | 21 | 0.9% | 1 | 2 |
| 22 | Hortensius ♂ | 20 | 0.8% | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | Messenger ♂ | 20 | 0.8% | 2 | 2 |
| 24 | Titus ♂ | 19 | 0.8% | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | First Servant ♂ | 18 | 0.7% | 2 | 2 |
| …29 additional speaking roles with fewer than 18 lines | |||||
Line-length signature
Of 2,451 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.
Line counts act by act
| Act | Scenes | Lines | Speakers | Density |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act 1 | 2 | 576 | 23 | |
| Act 2 | 2 | 291 | 10 | |
| Act 3 | 6 | 577 | 26 | |
| Act 4 | 3 | 626 | 13 | |
| Act 5 | 4 | 381 | 11 |
Longest scenes in Timon of Athens
| Scene | Lines | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| Act 4, Scene 3 | 533 | 10 |
| Act 1, Scene 1 | 312 | 12 |
| Act 1, Scene 2 | 264 | 16 |
| Act 2, Scene 2 | 253 | 9 |
| Act 5, Scene 1 | 252 | 7 |
When each speaker first enters
- Act 1 — 23 new speakers enter: Timon, Apemantus, Flavius, Alcibiades, Poet, Painter, Lucilius, First Lord, Second Lord, Old Athenian (+13 more)
- Act 2 — 7 new speakers enter: Senator, Flaminius, Caphis, Fool, Page, All Servants, Servants
- Act 3 — 16 new speakers enter: First Senator, Second Senator, Lucullus, First Stranger, Sempronius, Servilius, Hortensius, Titus, First Servant, Philotus (+6 more)
- Act 4 — 6 new speakers enter: First Bandit, Timandra, Third Bandit, Phrynia, Second Bandit, Banditti
- Act 5 — 2 new speakers enter: Soldier, Both
Scene length across the play
Across 17 scenes: 5 very short (under 50 lines), 7 short (50–149 lines), 3 mid-length (150–299 lines), 2 long (300+ lines).
The shortest scene runs 10 lines, the longest 533 lines, with a mean of about 144 lines per scene.
How Timon of Athens compares to Shakespeare’s other tragedies
| Play | Year | Lines | Acts | Scenes | Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timon of Athens (this play) | c. 1607 | 2,451 | 5 | 17 | 54 |
| Macbeth | c. 1606 | 2,385 | 5 | 28 | 41 |
| Titus Andronicus | c. 1594 | 2,553 | 5 | 14 | 27 |
| Julius Caesar | c. 1599 | 2,599 | 5 | 18 | 51 |
| Romeo and Juliet | c. 1595 | 3,079 | 5 | 25 | 35 |
Common questions
How long is Timon of Athens?
2,451 lines of dialogue across 5 acts and 17 scenes — roughly 144 lines per scene.
Who speaks the most in Timon of Athens?
Timon with 824 lines — about 34% of the play.
Which act of Timon of Athens is longest?
Act 4 runs 626 lines across 3 scenes — noticeably heavier than the play’s other acts.