1606 in literature

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Last updated March 28, 2025

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.^[1]
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 (Saint 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.

New books

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 ^[2]
George Chapman
- Sir Giles Goosecap (attributed; published)^[3]
- 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 [ es ]
- 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 ^[4]
- 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)

References

↑ Sutherland, John; Fender, Stephen (2011). "7 August". Love, Sex, Death & Words: surprising tales from a year in literature. London: Icon. pp. 297–8. ISBN 978-184831-247-0.
↑ Suzanne Gossett (April 21, 2011). Thomas Middleton in Context. Cambridge University Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-521-19054-1.
↑ Akihiro Yamada (April 28, 2017). Experiencing Drama in the English Renaissance: Readers and Audiences. Taylor & Francis. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-351-76446-9.
↑ Scholars date completion of these plays as between 1603 and 1606. Boyce, Charles (1990). Encyclopaedia of Shakespeare. New York: Roundtable Press.

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[1] Sutherland, John; Fender, Stephen (2011). "7 August". Love, Sex, Death & Words: surprising tales from a year in literature. London: Icon. pp. 297–8. ISBN 978-184831-247-0.

[2] Suzanne Gossett (April 21, 2011). Thomas Middleton in Context. Cambridge University Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-521-19054-1.

[3] Akihiro Yamada (April 28, 2017). Experiencing Drama in the English Renaissance: Readers and Audiences. Taylor & Francis. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-351-76446-9.

[4] Scholars date completion of these plays as between 1603 and 1606. Boyce, Charles (1990). Encyclopaedia of Shakespeare. New York: Roundtable Press.

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