Note to King Lear, 4.1.60-61: "Obidicut; Hobbididence, prince of dumbness; Mahu, / of stealing; Modo, of murder; Flibbertigibbet"


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King Lear,
Act 4, Scene 1, lines 60-61
The names of the five devils are derived, sometimes with changed spelling, from Samuel Harsnett. Harsnett, who became Archbishop of York, was a contemporary of Shakespeare's who wrote A Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures. Shakespeare used this book as a source, pulling words and phrases for Edgar while he is pretending to be Poor Tom.

An Exorcism
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