1608 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1608 in literature involved some significant events.
Events
- January 10 - 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...
's The Masque of BeautyThe Masque of BeautyThe Masque of Beauty was a courtly masque composed by Ben Jonson, and performed to inaugurate the refurbished banqueting hall of Whitehall Palace on January 10, 1608. It was a sequel to the preceding Masque of Blackness, which had been performed three years earlier, on January 6, 1605...
is performed by Queen AnneAnne of DenmarkAnne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
and her retinue at the Banqueting House, WhitehallBanqueting House, WhitehallThe Banqueting House, Whitehall, London, is the grandest and best known survivor of the architectural genre of banqueting house, and the only remaining component of the Palace of Whitehall...
, a sequel to The Masque of BlacknessThe Masque of BlacknessThe Masque of Blackness was an early Jacobean era masque, first performed at the Stuart Court in the Banqueting Hall of Whitehall Palace on Twelfth Night, January 6, 1605. The masque was written by Ben Jonson at the request of Anne of Denmark, the queen consort of King James I, who wished the...
. - February 9 - Another masque by Jonson, The Hue and Cry After CupidThe Hue and Cry After CupidThe Hue and Cry After Cupid, or A Hue and Cry After Cupid, also Lord Haddington's Masque or The Masque at Lord Haddington's Marriage, or even The Masque With the Nuptial Songs at the Lord Viscount Haddington's Marriage at Court, was a masque performed on Shrove Tuesday night, February 9, 1608, in...
, is performed at the Banqueting House, with sets designed by Inigo JonesInigo JonesInigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
. - March 31 - 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...
is performed aboard the East India Company ship Red Dragon, under the command of Capt. William KeelingWilliam KeelingCaptain William Keeling , of the East India Company, was a British sea captain. He commanded the Susanna on the second East India Company voyage in 1604, and he commanded the Red Dragon on the third voyage of 1607. He discovered the Cocos Islands in 1609 as he was going home from Java to England....
. - Henry AinsworthHenry Ainsworth-Life:He was born of a farming family of Swanton Morley, Norfolk. He was educated at Caius College, Cambridge, and, after associating with the Puritan party in the Church, eventually joined the Separatists....
publishes a response to Richard BernardRichard BernardRichard Bernard was an English Puritan clergyman and writer.-Life:Bernard was born in Epworth and received his education at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he matriculated in 1592, obtained his BA in 1595, and an MA in 1598. He was married in 1601 and had six children...
's The Separatist Schisme. - Thomas OverburyThomas OverburySir Thomas Overbury was an English poet and essayist, and the victim of one of the most sensational crimes in English history...
is knighted. - Juan Ruiz de AlarcónJuan Ruiz de AlarcónJuan Ruiz de Alarcón y Mendoza , one of the greatest Novohispanic dramatists of the Golden Age, was born in New Spain .-Genealogy:...
returns to Mexico from Spain, to take up an academic post. - Arthur Johnston goes to Italy to study at Padua.
- The Morgan BibleMorgan BibleThe Morgan Bible is a medieval picture bible of 44 folios. It is also called the Morgan Bible of Louis IX, the Book of Kings, the Crusader Bible, and the Maciejowski Bible...
is given by Cardinal Bernard Maciejowski, Bishop of Cracow, to Abbas I (Shah of Persia). - Thomas CoryatThomas CoryatThomas Coryat was an English traveller and writer of the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean age. He is principally remembered for two volumes of writings he left regarding his travels, often on foot, through Europe and parts of Asia...
begins his walking tour of Europe.
New books
- George Abbot - A Brief Description of the Whole World
- Robert ArminRobert ArminRobert Armin was an English actor, a member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men. He became the leading comedy actor with the troupe associated with William Shakespeare following the departure of Will Kempe around 1600...
- A Nest of Ninnies - Thomas Dekker - The Dead Term
- Thomas Dekker - The Bellman of London
- Francesco Maria GuazzoFrancesco Maria GuazzoFrancesco Maria Guazzo, aka Guaccio, aka Guaccius was an Italian priest in Milan. He wrote a book, the Compendium Maleficarum , in which he cited numerous experts on the subject, among them Nicholas Remy....
- Compendium MaleficarumCompendium MaleficarumCompendium Maleficarum is a book written in Latin by Francesco Maria Guazzo.-Translations:The book was not translated into English until 1929, when this was accomplished under the direction of the witchcraft scholar Montague Summers.... - Mathurin RégnierMathurin RégnierMathurin Régnier was a French satirist.-Life:Régnier was born in Chartres, current region of Centre....
- Les Premieres d'Euvres ou Satyres de Regnier - "P. F." - The History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus
New drama
- Lording BarryLording Barry-Works:Barry is known as the author of one comedy, ‘Ram Alley, or Merry Tricks,’, 1611 and 1636, which was included in the second and subsequent editions of Robert Dodsley's ‘Old Plays.’ Anthony Wood says it was acted by the Children of the King's Revels before 1611....
- Ram Alley (published) - George ChapmanGeorge ChapmanGeorge Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
- The Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles, Duke of ByronThe Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles, Duke of ByronThe Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron, Marshall of France is a Jacobean tragedy by George Chapman, a two-part play or double play first performed and published in 1608... - John DayJohn Day (dramatist)John Day was an English dramatist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods.-Life:He was born at Cawston, Norfolk, and educated at Ely. He became a sizar of Caius College, Cambridge, in 1592, but was expelled in the next year for stealing a book...
- Humour Out of Breath and Law Tricks published - Thomas HeywoodThomas HeywoodThomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...
- The Rape of Lucrece published - 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 Masque of BeautyThe Masque of BeautyThe Masque of Beauty was a courtly masque composed by Ben Jonson, and performed to inaugurate the refurbished banqueting hall of Whitehall Palace on January 10, 1608. It was a sequel to the preceding Masque of Blackness, which had been performed three years earlier, on January 6, 1605...
performed, and published with The Masque of BlacknessThe Masque of BlacknessThe Masque of Blackness was an early Jacobean era masque, first performed at the Stuart Court in the Banqueting Hall of Whitehall Palace on Twelfth Night, January 6, 1605. The masque was written by Ben Jonson at the request of Anne of Denmark, the queen consort of King James I, who wished the... - The Hue and Cry After CupidThe Hue and Cry After CupidThe Hue and Cry After Cupid, or A Hue and Cry After Cupid, also Lord Haddington's Masque or The Masque at Lord Haddington's Marriage, or even The Masque With the Nuptial Songs at the Lord Viscount Haddington's Marriage at Court, was a masque performed on Shrove Tuesday night, February 9, 1608, in...
(performed and published)
- The Masque of Beauty
- Henry Machin & 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...
- The Dumb Knight - The Merry Devil of EdmontonThe Merry Devil of EdmontonThe Merry Devil of Edmonton is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy about a magician, Peter Fabel, nicknamed the Merry Devil.Scholars have conjectured dates of authorship for the play as early as 1592, though most favor a date in the 1600–4 period...
(attributed to 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"...
, Michael DraytonMichael DraytonMichael Drayton was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era.-Early life:He was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost nothing is known about his early life, beyond the fact that in 1580 he was in the service of Thomas Goodere of Collingham,...
, and others) - 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 Family of Love, A Mad World, My MastersA Mad World, My MastersA Mad World, My Masters is a Jacobean stage play written by Thomas Middleton, a comedy first performed around 1605 and first published in 1608....
, and A Trick to Catch the Old OneA Trick to Catch the Old OneA Trick to Catch the Old One is a Jacobean comedy written by Thomas Middleton, first published in 1608. The play is a satire in the sub-genre of city comedy....
(published) - A Yorkshire TragedyA Yorkshire TragedyA Yorkshire Tragedy is an early Jacobean era stage play, a domestic tragedy printed in 1608. The play was originally assigned to William Shakespeare, though the modern critical consensus rejects this attribution, favouring Thomas Middleton....
(attributed)
- The Family of Love, A Mad World, My Masters
- John Sansbury - Periander
- 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"...
- King LearKing LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
(published)
Births
- February 6 - António VieiraAntónio VieiraFather António Vieira was a Portuguese Jesuit and writer, the "prince" of Catholic pulpit-orators of his time.-Life:Vieira was born in Lisbon to Cristóvão Vieira Ravasco, the son of a mulatto woman, and Maria de Azevedo. Accompanying his parents to Brazil in 1614, he received his education at the...
, Portuguese Jesuit orator and writer (died 1697) - February 12 - Daniello BartoliDaniello Bartolithumb|right| Daniello Bartoli "Obiit Romae, die 13 Januarii, anno 1685, aet. 77"Daniello Bartoli was an Italian Jesuit writer and historiographer, celebrated by Francesco de Sanctis as the "Dante of Italian prose".-Ferrara:He was born in Ferrara. His father, Tiburzio was a chemist associated with...
, Jesuit writer (died 1685) - December 9 - John MiltonJohn MiltonJohn Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, poet and author (died 1674) - date unknown
- Thomas FullerThomas FullerThomas Fuller was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his Worthies of England, published after his death...
, churchman and historian (died 1661) - Antoine Le MaistreAntoine Le MaistreAntoine Le Maistre was a French Jansenist lawyer, author and translator. His name has also been written Lemaistre and Le Maître, and he sometimes used the pseudonym of Lamy.-Background and early life:...
, Jansenist lawyer, author and translator (died 1658)
- Thomas Fuller
Deaths
- February 16 - Nicolas RapinNicolas RapinNicolas Rapin was a French Renaissance magistrate, royal officer, translator, poet and satirist, known for being one of the authors of the Satire Ménippée and an outspoken critic of the excesses of the Holy League during the Wars of Religion.- Life :Born at Fontenay-le-Comte, Vendée into a family...
, translator, poet and satirist (born 1535) - February 26
- Thomas Craig, poet (born c1538)
- John StillJohn StillJohn Still , bishop of Bath and Wells enjoyed considerable fame as a preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of the early English comedy drama Gammer Gurton's Needle .-Career:...
, bishop, formerly credited with authorship of Gammer Gurton's Needle (born c1543)
- April 19 - Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of DorsetThomas Sackville, 1st Earl of DorsetThomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset was an English statesman, poet, dramatist and Freemason. He was the son of Richard Sackville, a cousin to Anne Boleyn. He was a Member of Parliament and Lord High Treasurer.-Biography:...
, statesman and poet (born 1536) - June 19 - Alberico GentiliAlberico GentiliAlberico Gentili was an Italian jurist. He left Italy due to his Protestant faith, travelled in Central Europe, and emigrated to England. In 1580 he became regius professor of civil law at the University of Oxford...
, legal writer (born 1552) - July 26 - Pablo de CéspedesPablo de CéspedesPablo de Céspedes was a Spanish painter, poet, and architect.His father, Alonso Cespedes, was descended of a noble Castilian family, once settled at Ocaña, and the name of his mother, who was a native of Alcolea de Torote, was Olaya de Arroya.Pablo was born and brought up in the house of his...
, poet and artist (born 1538) - October 19
- Martin DelrioMartin DelrioMartín Antonio Del Rio or Martin Antoine Del Rio was a Jesuit theologian of Spanish descent. He wrote, among other books, Disquisitionum magicarum libri sex, a work on magic and the occult...
, theologian (born 1551) - Geoffrey FentonGeoffrey FentonSir Geoffrey Fenton was an English writer, Privy Councillor, and Principal Secretary of State in Ireland.-Early literary years:...
, writer and politician (born c1539)
- Martin Delrio
- date unknown
- Mary Arden, mother of Shakespeare (born c1540)
- George BannatyneGeorge BannatyneGeorge Bannatyne , collector of Scottish poems that were very dramatic and emotional, was a native of Newtyle, Angus. He became an Edinburgh merchant and was admitted a burgess in 1587. Some years earlier, in 1568, when the "pest" raged in the capital, he retired to his native county and amused...
, collector of Scottish poems (born 1545) - Nicolas de MontreuxNicolas de MontreuxNicolas de Montreux was a French nobleman, novelist, poet, translator and dramatist.Born in province of Maine, he was the son of a maître des requêtes and may have become a priest around 1585. In 1591 he came under the protection of the Duke of Mercœur and participated in the civil wars on the...
, novelist, poet and dramatist (born c1561) - Laurence TomsonLaurence TomsonLaurence Tomson revised both the text and the annotations of the New Testament of the Geneva Bible. His revised edition appeared in 1576. Tomson was a Calvinist, and his annotations reflect that system of theology....
, Calvinist theologian (born 1539) - Jean Vauquelin de la FresnayeJean Vauquelin de la FresnayeJean Vauquelin de la Fresnaye was a French poet born at the château of La Fresnaye-au-Sauvage in Normandy in 1536....
, poet (born 1536)