1611 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1611.

• January 1 – Oberon, the Faery Prince, a masque written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace.
• February 3 – Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly, another Jonson/Jones masque, is also staged at Whitehall.
• May 2 – The Authorized King James Version of the Bible appears,^[1] printed in London by Robert Barker.
• May 11 – The first known performance of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, probably new this year, is given by the King's Men at the Globe Theatre in London.^[2]
• November 1 – The King's Men give perhaps the first performance of The Tempest, Shakespeare's last solo play, at Whitehall Palace.
• November 5 – The King's Men perform The Winter's Tale at Whitehall Palace.
• December 26 – The King's Men return to Court with Beaumont and Fletcher's A King and No King.
• December 27 – Queen Anne's Men act one of their most popular plays, Greene's Tu Quoque (The City Gallant; probably written by John Cooke) at Court, having previously performed it at the Red Bull Theatre.^[3]
• unknown dates
  • The last known traditional performance of an English mystery play is given at Kendal.
  • Dramatist Juan Ruiz de Alarcón returns to Spain from Mexico.

• The Holy Bible, Authorized King James Version
• Jacques Bongars – Gesta Dei per Francos
• Thomas Coryat – Coryat's Crudities hastily gobbled up in Five Months Travels in France, Italy, &c
• Randle Cotgrave – A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues
• John Donne – An Anatomy of the World
• Giolla Brighde Ó hEoghusa (Bonaventura Ó hEoghusa or O'Hussey) – An Teagasc Criosdaidhe
• Samuel Rowlands – The Knave of Clubs
• John Speed:
  • The Historie of Great Britaine
  • The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine (map atlas)

• Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher – A King and No King
• George Chapman – May Day (published)
• John Cooke (?) – Greene's Tu Quoque
• Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton – The Roaring Girl (published)
• Thomas Dekker – If This Be Not a Good Play, the Devil Is In It
• Thomas Heywood – The Golden Age (published)
• Ben Jonson
  • Oberon, the Faery Prince^[4]
  • Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly
  • Catiline His Conspiracy published^[1]
• Johannes Messenius – Disa
• Thomas Middleton (attributed to) – The Second Maiden's Tragedy
• Anthony Munday – Chryso-Thriambos
• William Shakespeare
  • The Winter's Tale (probable date)
  • The Tempest (consensus date)^[5]
• Cyril Tourneur – The Atheist's Tragedy (published)^[1]

See also 1611 in poetry

• Richard Braithwaite – The Golden Fleece
• John Donne – An Anatomy of the World
• Emilia Lanier – Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum

• September 1 – William Cartwright, English dramatist (died 1643)
• October 22 – Jacques Esprit ("abbé Esprit"), French moralist (died 1677)
• October 26 – Antonio Coello, Spanish dramatist and poet (died 1652)
• unknown dates
  • Richard Alleine, English religious writer (died 1681)
  • Charles Alphonse du Fresnoy, French writer on art and painter (died 1665)
  • Thomas Urquhart, Scottish translator (died c. 1660)
• probable year
  • Jean François Sarrazin, French satirist (died 1654)

• February 8 – Jan Huyghen van Linschoten, Dutch historian (born 1563)
• March 11 – Giles Fletcher, the Elder, English poet and diplomat (born c. 1548)
• March 20 – Johann Georg Gödelmann, German demonological writer (born 1559)
• April 23 – Martin Ruland the Younger, German alchemist and editor of his father's writings (born 1569)
• June 8 – Jean Bertaut, French poet (born 1552)
• September 22 – Pedro de Ribadeneira, Spanish ecclesiastical historian (born 1527)
• unknown date
  • John Hamilton, Scottish Catholic controversialist (born c. 1547)