1601 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1601 in literature involved some significant events.
Events
- February 7 - The Lord Chamberlain's MenLord Chamberlain's MenThe Lord Chamberlain's Men was a playing company for whom Shakespeare worked for most of his career. Formed at the end of a period of flux in the theatrical world of London, it had become, by 1603, one of the two leading companies of the city and was subsequently patronised by James I.It was...
stage a performance of Shakespeare's Richard IIRichard II (play)King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
at the Globe TheatreGlobe TheatreThe Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
. The performance is specially commissioned (at a 40-shilling bonus) by the plotters in the Earl of EssexRobert Devereux, 2nd Earl of EssexRobert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
's rebellion of the following day. The plotters hope that the play, depicting the overthrow of a reigning monarch, will influence the public mood in their favor. The plot fails. Actor and company member Augustine PhillipsAugustine PhillipsAugustine Phillips was an Elizabethan actor who performed in troupes with Edward Alleyn and William Shakespeare. He was one of the first generation of English actors to achieve wealth and a degree of social status by means of his trade....
is deposed by the Privy CouncilPrivy Council of the United KingdomHer Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
on February 17. - Lancelot AndrewesLancelot AndrewesLancelot Andrewes was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Chichester, Ely and Winchester and oversaw the translation of the...
becomes Dean of Westminster. - Thomas OverburyThomas OverburySir Thomas Overbury was an English poet and essayist, and the victim of one of the most sensational crimes in English history...
meets Robert Carr, 1st Earl of SomersetRobert Carr, 1st Earl of SomersetRobert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, , was a politician, and favourite of King James I of England.-Background:Robert Kerr was born in Wrington, Somerset, England the younger son of Sir Thomas Kerr of Ferniehurst, Scotland by his second wife, Janet, sister of Walter Scott of Buccleuch...
, and they become firm friends. - Tirso de MolinaTirso de MolinaTirso de Molina was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and a Roman Catholic monk.Originally Gabriel Téllez, he was born in Madrid. He studied at Alcalá de Henares, joined the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy on November 4, 1600, and entered the Monastery of San Antolín at Guadalajara,...
enters the monastery of San Antolín at Guadalajara, Spain. - Tommaso CampanellaTommaso CampanellaTommaso Campanella OP , baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet.-Biography:...
, imprisoned in Italy for revolutionary plotting, is judged insane and spared the death penalty. He is sentenced to life imprisonment, and begins to write The City of the SunThe City of the SunThe City of the Sun is a philosophical work by the Italian Dominican philosopher Tommaso Campanella. It is an important early utopian work.The work was written in Italian in 1602, shortly after Campanella's imprisonment for heresy and sedition...
. - Philemon HollandPhilemon HollandPhilemon Holland was an English translator.His father, John Holland, was a clergyman who fled the Kingdom of England during the persecutions of Mary I of England...
publishes his translation of the Natural History of Pliny the ElderPliny the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
. When he composes OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
in the next year of so, Shakespeare exploits the book for references, including the "Anthropophagi" and the "Pontic Sea."
New books
- Antonio de Herrera y TordesillasAntonio de Herrera y TordesillasAntonio de Herrera y Tordesillas , Spanish historian, was born at Cuéllar, in the province of Segovia.-Biography:His father, Roderigo de Tordesillas, and his mother, Agnes de Herrera, were both of good family...
- Historia general de los hechos de los Castellanos, volume 1 - Thomas MiddletonThomas MiddletonThomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
- The Penniless Parliament of Threadbare Poets - Achilles TatiusAchilles TatiusAchilles Tatius of Alexandria was a Roman era Greek writer whose fame is attached to his only surviving work, the ancient Greek novel or romance The Adventures of Leucippe and Clitophon.-Life and minor works:...
- The Adventures of Leucippe and Cleitophon (first printed edition of original Greek text)
New drama
- Anonymous (Sebastian Westcote?) - The Contention Between Liberality and Prodigality
- Thomas Dekker - SatiromastixSatiromastixSatiromastix, or The Untrussing of the Humorous Poet is a late Elizabethan stage play by Thomas Dekker, one of the plays involved in the Poetomachia or War of the Theatres....
- Ben JonsonBen JonsonBenjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
- The PoetasterThe PoetasterThe Poetaster is a late Elizabethan stage play, a satire written by Ben Jonson, and first performed in 1601. The play formed one element in the back-and-forth exchange between Jonson and his rivals John Marston and Thomas Dekker in the so-called Poetomachia or War of the Theatres of...
performed, Cynthia's RevelsCynthia's RevelsCynthia's Revels, or The Fountain of Self-Love is a late Elizabethan stage play, a satire written by Ben Jonson, The play was one element in the so-called Poetomachia or War of the Theatres between Jonson and rival playrwights John Marston and Thomas Dekker.-Performance:The play was first performed...
published - John LylyJohn LylyJohn Lyly was an English writer, best known for his books Euphues,The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England. Lyly's linguistic style, originating in his first books, is known as Euphuism.-Biography:John Lyly was born in Kent, England, in 1553/1554...
- Love's MetamorphosisLove's MetamorphosisLove's Metamorphosis is an Elizabethan era stage play, an allegorical pastoral written by John Lyly. It was the last of his dramas to be printed.-Performance and Publication:...
published - John MarstonJohn MarstonJohn Marston was an English poet, playwright and satirist during the late Elizabethan and Jacobean periods...
- What You WillWhat You WillWhat You Will is a late Elizabethan comedy by John Marston, written in 1601 and probably performed by the Children of Paul's, one of the companies of boy actors popular in that period.... - William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
- Twelfth Night, or What You Will; HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
(possible first performance) - Robert YaringtonRobert YaringtonRobert Yarington , was a playwright.Yarington was the author of two tragedies, one of which tells of the murder of Mr Beech, a chaundler in Thames Street, and his boy, by Thomas Merry, the other of a young child murdered in a wood by two ruffians, with the consent of his uncle. They were printed...
- Two Lamentable Tragedies published
New poetry
- Robert Chester - Love's Martyr. The volume also contained fourteen poems by other hands, including:
- William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
- The Phoenix and the TurtleThe Phoenix and the TurtleThe Phoenix and the Turtle is an allegorical poem about the death of ideal love by William Shakespeare. It is widely considered to be one of his most obscure works and has led to many conflicting interpretations. It has also been called "the first great published metaphysical poem". The title "The...
- William Shakespeare
- Gervase MarkhamGervase MarkhamGervase Markham was an English poet and writer, best known for his work The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman first published in London in 1615.-Life:Markham was the third son of Sir Robert Markham of Cotham, Nottinghamshire, and was...
- Mary Magdalene's Tears - John WeeverJohn WeeverJohn Weever , was an English poet and antiquary.-Life:He was a native of Preston, Lancashire. Little is known of his early life and his parentage is not certain...
- The Mirror of Martyrs, or The Life and Death of Sir John Oldcastle - Bento TeixeiraBento TeixeiraBento Teixeira was a Portuguese poet. He is considered to be the introducer of Baroque in Brazil and the first Brazilian poet — however, this last affirmation is contested by many historians.-Life:...
- Prosopopeia
Births
- January 8 - Baltasar GraciánBaltasar GraciánBaltasar Gracián y Morales, SJ was a Spanish Jesuit and baroque prose writer. He was born in Belmonte, near Calatayud .-Biography:...
, prose author (d. 1658) - March 7 - Johann Michael MoscheroschJohann Michael MoscheroschJohann Michael Moscherosch , German satirist and moralist, was born at Willstädt, on the Upper Rhine near Strasbourg. His bitterly brilliant but partisan writings graphically describe life in a Germany ravaged by the Thirty Years' War...
, satirist (d. 1669) - June 5 - John TrappJohn TrappJohn Trapp, , was an English Anglican Bible commentator. His large five-volume commentary is still read today and is known for its pithy statements and quotable prose. His volumes are quoted frequently by other religious writers, including Charles Spurgeon...
, Biblical commentator (d. 1669) - July 17 - Emmanuel MaignanEmmanuel MaignanEmmanuel Maignan was a French physicist and Catholic Minimite theologian....
, theologian (d. 1676) - August 22 - Georges de ScudéryGeorges de ScudéryGeorges de Scudéry , the elder brother of Madeleine de Scudéry, was a French novelist, dramatist and poet.Georges de Scudéry was born in Le Havre, in Normandy, whither his father had moved from Provence...
, novelist, dramatist and poet (d. 1667) - probable - François Tristan l'HermiteFrançois Tristan l'HermiteFrançois l'Hermite was a French dramatist who wrote under the name Tristan l'Hermite. He was born at the Château de Soliers in the Haute Marche....
, dramatist (d. 1655)
Deaths
- January - Scipione AmmiratoScipione AmmiratoScipione Ammirato was an Italian historian.Ammirato was born at Lecce, in the kingdom of Naples. His father, intending him for the profession of law, sent him to study at Naples, but his own decided preference for literature prevented him from fulfilling his father's wishes...
, historian (b. 1531) - March 13 - Henry CuffeHenry CuffeSir Henry Cuffe was an English author and politician, executed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, for treason.-Family connections:...
, author and politician (b. 1563) (executed) - April 10 - Mark Alexander BoydMark Alexander BoydMark Alexander Boyd was a Scottish poet and soldier of fortune. He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland. His father was from Pinkell, Carrick in Ayrshire. Boyd left Scotland for France as a young man. There he studied civil law...
, poet (b. 1562) - August 19 - William LambardeWilliam LambardeWilliam Lambarde was an antiquarian and writer on legal subjects.-Life:Lambarde was born in London. His father was a draper , an alderman and a sheriff of London. In 1556, he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn...
, legal writer (b. 1536) - September - John ShakespeareJohn ShakespeareJohn Shakespeare was the father of William Shakespeare. He was the son of Richard Shakespeare of Snitterfield, a farmer. He moved to Stratford-upon-Avon and married Mary Arden, with whom he had eight children, five of whom survived into adulthood...
, father of William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
(b. c. 1530) - date unknown
- John HookerJohn Hooker (English constitutionalist)John Hooker, John Hoker or John Vowell was an English writer, solicitor, antiquary, civic administrator and advocate of republican government. He wrote an eye-witness account of the siege of Exeter that took place during the Prayer Book Rebellion in 1549...
, English constitutionalist (b. c. 1527) - Gian Vincenzo PinelliGian Vincenzo PinelliGian Vincenzo Pinelli was an Italian humanist from Padua, known as a savant and a mentor of Galileo. His literary correspondence put him at the center of a European network of virtuosi...
, humanist and book collector (b. 1535)
- John Hooker
- probable - Thomas NorthThomas NorthSir Thomas North was an English translator of Plutarch, second son of the 1st Baron North.-Life:He is supposed to have been a student of Peterhouse, Cambridge, and was entered at Lincoln's Inn in 1557. In 1574 he accompanied his brother, Lord North, on a visit to the French court. He served as...
, translator