Number of speeches in all Shakespeare plays
In the 37 canonized plays in William Shakespeare's body of work, the number of speeches in each play ranges from 605 to 1,361 separate speech entries. These speeches are when characters speak, (which can be entire soliloquies, or simple one-word answers) as well as narrations and stage directions. The plays with the most separate speech entries are Antony and Cleopatra, Othello and Triolus and Cressida, all of which have over 1.3 thousand speeches. Although Hamlet is the Shakespeare play with the highest word-count, it has only the fourth highest number of speeches (Hamlet is also famous for its numerous soliloquies, such as "To be or not to be").
There are three Shakespeare plays with fewer than 650 separate speech entries, which are Richard II, King John and A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Comedy of Errors, which has the lowest word count of any Shakespeare play, has only the fifth fewest speech entries.
There are three Shakespeare plays with fewer than 650 separate speech entries, which are Richard II, King John and A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Comedy of Errors, which has the lowest word count of any Shakespeare play, has only the fifth fewest speech entries.
