1606 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1606.

Events

 * January? – Sir Thomas Craig becomes church procurator.
 * February... – John Day's satirical play The Isle of Gulls causes a scandal which sends several of the young actors from the Children of the Chapel to prison for short periods.
 * Spring – Ben Jonson's satirical play Volpone is first performed, by the King's Men at the Globe Theatre in London.
 * May 27 – The English Parliament passes An Act to Restrain Abuses of Players, tightening censorship controls on public theatre performances, notably in relation to profane oaths.
 * August 7 – Possible first performance of Shakespeare's Macbeth, with Richard Burbage in the title role, amongst a series of plays presented by the King's Men before Kings James I of England and Christian IV of Denmark (his brother-in-law) at Hampton Court Palace in England.
 * November 14 – Marc Lescarbot's dramatic poem Théâtre de Neptune is performed at the Habitation at Port-Royal, Nova Scotia, the first theatrical performance in North America.
 * December 26 (St. Stephen's Day) – Shakespeare's King Lear is performed at Court before King James I of England. The title role is played by Richard Burbage and the Fool by Robert Armin.

Prose

 * Thomas Dekker
 * The Double PP
 * News From Hell
 * Salvator Fabris – Lo Schermo, overo Scienza D'Arme
 * Philemon Holland – The Historie of Twelve Caesars, a translation of Suetonius's De vita Caesarum

Drama

 * Anonymous (published)
 * The Returne from Pernassus, or The Scourge of Simony
 * Wily Beguiled
 * Anonymous (probably Thomas Middleton) – The Revenger's Tragedy
 * George Chapman
 * Sir Giles Goosecap (attributed; published)
 * The Gentleman Usher (published)
 * Monsieur D'Olive (published)
 * John Day – The Isle of Gulls
 * Lope de Vega
 * El anzuelo de Fenisa (Fenisa's Hook)
 * La discreta enamorada
 * El gran duque de Moscovia
 * Ben Jonson
 * Volpone
 * Hymenaei
 * John Marston
 * The Wonder of Women, or the Tragedy of Sophonisba
 * Parasitaster, or The Fawn (published)
 * Thomas Middleton (attributed) – The Puritan, or, The Widow of Watling-Street (probable date)
 * William Shakespeare
 * Macbeth (possible first performance)
 * King Lear (first recorded performance)
 * Edward Sharpham – The Fleir

Poetry

 * Hieronim Morsztyn – Światowa Rozkosz (Worldly Pleasure)
 * Jean Passerat (posthumous) – Recueil des œuvres poétiques

Births

 * February 28 – William Davenant, English poet and dramatist (died 1668)
 * March 3 – Edmund Waller, English poet (died 1687)
 * May 12 – Joachim von Sandrart, German art historian (died 1688)
 * June 6 – Pierre Corneille, French dramatist (died 1684)
 * Unknown dates
 * Pierre du Ryer, French dramatist (died 1658)
 * Junije Palmotić, Ragusan dramatist and poet (died 1657)

Deaths

 * May 13 (burial) – Arthur Golding, English translator (born c. 1536)
 * May 17 – Niccolò Orlandini, Italian Jesuit writer (born 1554)
 * May 30 – Guru Arjan, Sikh Guru and compiler of scriptures (in custody, born 1563)
 * September 28 – Nicolaus Taurellus, German philosopher and theologian (born 1547)
 * October 5 – Philippe Desportes, French poet (born 1546)
 * November 13 – Girolamo Mercuriale, Italian philologist and medical writer (born 1530)
 * November 20 (burial) – John Lyly, English dramatist, poet and novelist (born c. 1553)
 * November 22 – Sir Henry Billingsley, English translator (birth year unknown)
 * Unknown date – Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer – Dutch cartographer (born 1533/1534)