I recently realised that I hadn't got around to doing this for Edward III, which was accepted into the official Shakespeare canon a few years back, by the New Cambridge Shakespeare editors, if not by everyone. I sat down to do the analysis, which takes an hour or so, and then realised it might be of use to others, so I decided I'd put my work up here for people to download if they feel so inclined.
What you should be aware of:
- All analysis is based on the New Penguin Shakespeare edition (I believe this is the one known as Signet in the USA), except for Titus Andronicus, Edward III and Cymbeline, none of which are available in the New Penguin. The first I have analysed from a copy of the old Penguin Shakespeare (not sure when it was published, but it was edited by G.B. Harrison and cost 3/6), the second from the New Cambridge Shakespeare, and the last from the Arden Shakespeare, Second Edition. Hopefully this shouldn't cause too much inconsistency.
- This is not an academic study, but a guide from an actor's point of view, giving an idea of how much each has to learn. A line broken between two characters will be generally be counted for both, and where a character has several 'part' lines in a scene, I might round them, so don't expect the numbers herein to match exactly the number of lines marked for a scene in a text. I've used the same standards throughout, so at least my divergences from 'official' opinion should be consistent!
- The files are in Lotus 1-2-3 format, because that's what I've used for years. If you can't read them, and you really need a specific file converting to something else, let me know by email and I'll do my best, but at the moment I can't be bothered to do a mass conversion exercise.
| Character | Play | Lines | % of that Play | |
| 1. | Hamlet | Hamlet | 1444 | 37.0% |
| 2. | Richard III | Richard III | 1145 | 31.3% |
| 3. | Iago | Othello | 1047 | 31.0% |
| 4. | Henry V | Henry V | 1008 | 31.7% |
| 5. | Othello | Othello | 856 | 25.3% |
| 6. | Caius Marcius Coriolanus | Coriolanus | 846 | 24.5% |
| 7. | Timon | Timon of Athens | 824 | 34.4% |
| 8. | Duke Vincentio | Measure for Measure | 812 | 30.2% |
| 9. | Mark Anthony | Anthony and Cleopatra | 765 | 23.8% |
| 10. | Richard II | Richard II | 754 | 27.1% |
Only Iago and Duke Vincentio are not 'title characters' in their plays
No female role features in the top ten - Rosalind (As You Like It) is the highest female role at 17th, with 640 lines.
So here are the files. The largest individual file is 40k; there is also a zip file with all 39 plays, weighing in at 200k. Each file contains one play broken down by character and scene; the Summary files listed first only contain a total for each character for the whole play. Let me know if you find this useful!