Julius Caesar

"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" is the first line of a speech delivered by Mark Antony in the play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare. Occurring in Act III, scene II, it is one of the most famous lines in all of Shakespeare's works. In the speech, Mark Anthony delivers a carefully crafted eulogy of Julius Caesar that is designed to turn the people of Rome against the conspirators that killed Caesar and launch himself into a position of power. The speech is a famous example of the use of emotionally charged rhetoric.