Vol. 08 · Shakespeare ·Julius Caesar, Act III.ii ·Mark Antony
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!"
Not quite the line.
How it's usually quoted
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!"
What Shakespeare actually wrote
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; / I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." Mark Antony — Julius Caesar, Act III.ii
Why it matters
The opening is the hook; the second clause sets up the whole rhetorical trick of the speech. Antony claims neutrality then delivers a eulogy.
More from the canon.
Browse the rest of the shelf, or try a cold reading.