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,^[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)

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)

^ ^a ^b ^c Williams, Hywel (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 243–248. ISBN 0-304-35730-8.
^ Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 170–172. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
^ E. K. Chambers, The Elizabethan Stage, 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923; Vol. 2, pp. 220–241.
^ Jack Zipes (2015). The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales. Oxford University Press. p. 325. ISBN 978-0-19-968982-8.
^ William Shakespeare (2001). The Tempest. Oxford University Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-19-832031-9.