"Lines spoken" means the number of sentenses spoken. "Occasions speaking" means the number of times a character speaks before another character speaks instead. "Pages onstage" means the number of pages in the script between the character's entrance and exit. "Line density" means how many lines a character speaks, on average, on each occasion they speak.
There are a total of 702 lines spoken in the play. They are spoken on 339 occasions. The play is 18 pages long.
AGLAEA:
31 lines spoken
24 occasions speaking
17 pages onstage
31/702 lines = 4.42% of lines in the play
24/339 occasions = speaks on 7.08% of all occasions of speech in the play
17/18 pages = present onstage for 94.44% of the play
31/17 = 1.82 lines spoken per page onstage
24/17 = 1.41 occasions of speech per page onstage
31/24 = line density of 1.29 lines spoken per occasion of speech
EUPHROSYNE:
45 lines spoken
29 occasions speaking
17 pages onstage
45/702 lines = 6.41% of lines in the play
29/339 occasions = speaks on 8.55% of all occasions of speech in the play
17/18 pages = present onstage for 94.44% of the play
45/17 = 2.65 lines spoken per page onstage
29/17 = 1.71 occasions of speech per page onstage
45/29 = line density of 1.55 lines spoken per occasion of speech
THALIA:
45 lines spoken
32 occasions speaking
17.25 pages onstage
45/702 lines = 6.41% of lines in the play
32/339 occasions = speaks on 9.44% of all occasions of speech in the play
17.25/18 pages = present onstage for 95.83% of the play
45/17.25 = 2.61 lines spoken per page onstage
32/17.25 = 1.86 occasions of speech per page onstage
45/32 = line density of 1.41 lines spoken per occasion of speech
PALAMON:
71 lines spoken
31 occasions speaking
14.75 pages onstage
71/702 lines = 10.11% of lines in the play
31/339 occasions = speaks on 9.14% of all occasions of speech in the play
13.33/18 pages = present onstage for 74.06% of the play
71/13.33 = 5.33 lines spoken per page onstage
31/13.33 = 2.33 occasions of speech per page onstage
71/31 = line density of 2.29 lines spoken per occasion of speech
ANDROMEDA:
76 lines spoken
35 occasions speaking
17.75 pages onstage
76/702 lines = 10.83% of lines in the play
35/339 occasions = speaks on 10.32% of all occasions of speech in the play
17.75/18 pages = present onstage for 98.61% of the play
76/17.75 = 4.28 lines spoken per page onstage
35/17.75 = 1.97 occasions of speech per page onstage
76/35 = line density of 2.17 lines spoken per occasion of speech
SELENE:
85 lines spoken
37 occasions speaking
14.75 pages onstage
85/702 lines = 12.12% of lines in the play
37/339 occasions = speaks on 10.91% of all occasions of speech in the play
14.75/18 pages = present onstage for 81.94% of the play
85/14.75 = 5.76 lines spoken per page onstage
37/14.75 = 2.51 occasions of speech per page onstage
85/37 = line density of 2.30 lines spoken per occasion of speech
DAMON:
115 lines spoken
50 occasions speaking
14.75 pages onstage
115/702 lines = 16.38% of lines in the play
50/339 occasions = speaks on 14.75% of all occasions of speech in the play
14.75/18 pages = present onstage for 81.94% of the play
115/14.75 = 7.80 lines spoken per page onstage
50/14.75 = 3.39 occasions of speech per page onstage
115/50 = line density of 2.30 lines spoken per occasion of speech
CASSANDER:
234 lines spoken
101 occasions speaking
18 pages onstage
234/702 lines = 33.33% of lines in the play
101/339 occasions = speaks on 29.79% of all occasions of speech in the play
18/18 pages - present onstage for 100.00% of the play
234/18 = 13.00 lines spoken per page onstage
101/18 = 5.61 occasions of speech per page onstage
234/101 = line density of 2.31 lines spoken per occasion of speech
...
Wow. The first thing I noticed is that the distribution of lines was a lot less even than I perceived it to be. I feel like when you're watching or reading it, it feels much more balanced and every character is just as involved as every other character. I'm glad it feels that way, even if it isn't. I knew Cassander spoke more than anyone else, but speaking a full third of the lines in the play? Whoa. He and Damon are the most verbose characters in the play, and I love how even though Palamon has the shortest amount of stage time, he speaks more lines than characters who spend more time onstage, and his line density is just as high as those others-- when he's onstage, he is often the center of attention. :-)
It also goes to show that part size is not a good indicator of importance. Every character is pretty much equally important to the story, and yet they are not equal in amount of lines they speak or number of occasions on which they speak them. I firmly believe this, especially with Shakespeare.
This is probably not interesting to anyone but me, but I find it fascinating to examine.
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