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.

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)