# 1611 in literature

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

## Events

* 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, 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.
* 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.
* 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.

## New books
### Prose

* 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)

### Drama

* 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
** Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly
** Catiline His Conspiracy published
* 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)
* Cyril Tourneur – The Atheist's Tragedy (published)

### Poetry

See also 1611 in poetry
* Richard Braithwaite – The Golden Fleece
* John Donne – An Anatomy of the World
* Emilia Lanier – Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum

## Births

* 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)

## Deaths

* 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)