1601 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1601. Events January 1 – The "Paul's Boys", a children's drama group, perform at the English royal court. January 6 – The Children of the Chapel give their first theatrical performance at the English court since 1584: Liberality and Prodigality, by an unknown dramatist. January 21 – Tirso de Molina enters the monastery of San Antolín at Guadalajara, Spain. February 7 – The Lord Chamberlain's Men stage a performance of Shakespeare's Richard II at the Globe Theatre in London. The performance is specially commissioned (at a 40-shilling bonus) by the plotters in the Earl of Essex'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 favour. The plot fails. February 17 – Actor Augustine Phillips, a member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, is deposed by the Privy Council of England. Spring – Probable latest date for first performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The play is presented by the Lord Chamberlain's Men at the Globe Theatre in London with Richard Burbage playing Prince Hamlet and (according to theatrical tradition) the dramatist playing the Ghost. May 31 – The authorities demand proof of the insanity of Tommaso Campanella, imprisoned in Italy for revolutionary plotting; Campanella is eventually judged insane and spared the death penalty and sentenced to life imprisonment, in the course of which he writes The City of the Sun. June (approximate) – Ben Jonson's The Poetaster is performed on stage for the first time. July – Lancelot Andrewes becomes Dean of Westminster. unknown dates Thomas Overbury meets Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, and they become firm friends. Philemon Holland publishes his translation of the Natural History of Pliny the Elder.