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Shakespeare's plays,
listed by speech count

List plays by genre + title + word count + date

Total speeches in all plays: 34,895
Total plays: 37
Average per play: 943

Note: A "speech" consists of either words spoken by a character, or a stage direction — anything from a one-word shout to a long soliloquy.

Speeches

Play

Genre

1,361

Antony and Cleopatra

Tragedy

1,309

Othello

Tragedy

1,301

Troilus and Cressida

Tragedy

1,250

Hamlet

Tragedy

1,240

Coriolanus

Tragedy

1,224

Richard III

History

1,181

King Lear

Tragedy

1,163

Merry Wives of Windsor

Comedy

1,123

Love's Labour's Lost

Comedy

1,062

Much Ado about Nothing

Comedy

1,034

All's Well That Ends Well

Comedy

1,031

Twelfth Night

Comedy

989

Romeo and Juliet

Tragedy

987

Henry IV, Part II

History

987

Measure for Measure

Comedy

979

Cymbeline

Tragedy

965

Taming of the Shrew

Comedy

949

Henry VI, Part III

History

943

Two Gentlemen of Verona

Comedy

921

Henry VI, Part II

History

895

Julius Caesar

Tragedy

884

Henry IV, Part I

History

872

As You Like It

Comedy

870

Timon of Athens

Tragedy

853

Henry V

History

814

Winter's Tale

Comedy

788

Henry VIII

History

787

Henry VI, Part I

History

765

Macbeth

Tragedy

756

Pericles

History

722

Merchant of Venice

Comedy

702

Tempest

Comedy

664

Comedy of Errors

Comedy

662

Titus Andronicus

Tragedy

636

Richard II

History

621

King John

History

605

Midsummer Night's Dream

Comedy