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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
  • Cyril Tourneur – The Atheist's Tragedy (published)