1598 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1598.

Events

*Before September – A second edition of ''Love's Labour's Lost'' appears in London as the first known printing of a Shakespeare play to have his name on the title page ("Newly corrected and augmented by W. Shakespere").
*February 23 – Thomas Bodley refounds the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.
*March 28 – Philip Henslowe contracts Edward Alleyn and Thomas Heywood to act for the Admiral's Men in London for two years.
*April 30 – A comedy, by anonymous playwriter about an expedition of soldiers, is very first theatrical performance in North America staged near El Paso for Spanish colonists.
*May 3 – The Spanish playwright Lope de Vega marries for the second time, to Juana de Guardo.
*c. May – The premiėre of William Haughton's '' Englishmen for My Money, or, A Woman Will Have Her Will'' introduces what is seen as the first city comedy, probably by the Admiral's Men at London's Rose Theatre.
*c. July/September – Ben Jonson's comedy of humours ''Every Man in His Humour'' is probably first performed, by the Lord Chamberlain's Men at the Curtain Theatre, London, perhaps with Shakespeare playing Kno'well.
*September 7 – Francis Meres' '' Palladis Tamia, Wits Treasury'' is registered for publication, including the first list and critical discussion of Shakespeare's works; he also mentions that Shakespeare's "sugar'd sonnets" are circulating privately.
*September 22 – Ben Jonson kills actor Gabriel Spenser in a duel in London and is briefly held in Newgate Prison, but escapes capital punishment by pleading benefit of clergy.
*October – Edmund Spenser's castle at Kilcolman, County Cork, near Doneraile in Ireland, is burned down by native forces under Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. Spenser leaves for London shortly after.
*November 25 – Henry Chettle is paid for "mending" a play about Robin Hood to make it suitable for performance at court.
* December 28 – London's The Theatre is dismantled.
*''unknown dates''
**Lancelot Andrewes turns down the bishoprics of Ely and Salisbury.
**The English poet Barnabe Barnes is prosecuted in the Star Chamber for attempted murder of one John Browne, first by offering him a poisoned lemon and then by sweetening his wine with sugar laced with mercury sublimate; Browne survives both attempts.
** John Marston's ''The Metamorphosis of Pigmalion's Image and Certaine Satyres'' begins a trend in English satirical writing that leads to official suppression in the following year.

New books

Prose

*John Bodenham – ''Politeuphuia (Wits' Commonwealth)''
*John Florio – ''A World of Words'', Italian/English dictionary, the first dictionary published in England to use quotations ("illustrations") for meaning to the words
* Emanuel Ford – ''Parismus, the Renowned Prince of Bohemia'' (first part)
*King James VI of Scotland – ''The Trew Law of Free Monarchies''
*Francis Meres – ''Palladis Tamia''
* Merkelis Petkevičius – '
*John Stow – ''Survey of London''
* Zhao Shizhen – ''Shenqipu'' (3rd century, possible first publication)
*Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer – ''Enchuyser zeecaertboeck'' (Enkhuizen book of sea charts)

Drama

*Anonymous
**''The Famous Victories of Henry V'' earliest known publication
**'' Mucedorus'' published
**'' The Pilgrimage to Parnassus'' (earliest possible date of composition)
* Jakob Ayrer
**''Von der Erbauung Roms'' (The Building of Rome)
**''Von der schönen Melusina'' (Fair Melusina)
*Samuel Brandon – ''Virtuous Octavia''
*Henry Chettle, Henry Porter and Ben Jonson – '' Hot Anger Soon Cold''
* Robert Greene – ''The Scottish History of James IV'' published
* William Haughton – '' Englishmen for My Money''
*Ben Jonson – ''Every Man in His Humour''
* Anthony Munday – '' The Downfall of Robert Earl of Huntingdon''
*Anthony Munday (and Henry Chettle?) – '' The Death of Robert Earl of Huntingdon''
* Henry Porter – ''Love Prevented''
*William Shakespeare
**''Henry IV, Part 1'' (published)
**''Love's Labour's Lost'' (published)

Poetry

*Richard Barnfield
**''The Encomium of Lady Pecunia''
**''Poems in Divers Humours''
*George Chapman – translation of Homer's ''Iliad'' into English
*Lope de Vega – ''La Arcadia'' and ''La Dragontea''
* Christopher Marlowe – ''Hero and Leander'' (completed by Chapman following Marlowe's death)
* John Marston – ''The Metamorphosis of Pigmalian's Image'' and ''The Scourge of Villanie''

Births

*March 12 – Guillaume Colletet, French writer (died 1659)
*March 13 – Johannes Loccenius, German historian (died 1677)
* July 29 – Henricus Regius, Dutch philosopher and correspondent of René Descartes (died 1679)
*August 7 – Georg Stiernhielm, Swedish poet (died 1672)
*''unknown date'' – Johann George Moeresius, German poet (died 1657)

Deaths

* January 2 - Morris Kyffin, Welsh soldier and author (born c.1555)
* January 9 – Jasper Heywood, English translator (born 1535)
* February 27 – Friedrich Dedekind, German theologian (born 1524)
*April 10 – Jacopo Mazzoni, Italian philosopher (born 1548)
*August – Alexander Montgomerie, outlawed Scottish poet (born c. 1545/1550)
*December 6 – Paolo Paruta, Venetian historian (born 1540)
*December 15 – Philips van Marnix, lord of Sint-Aldegonde, Dutch statesman and author (born 1540)
* December 31 – Heinrich Rantzau, German humanist writer (born 1526)
*''unknown date'' – David Powel, Welsh historian who popularised continuing legends such as that of Prince Madoc (born c. 1549)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1598 In Literature

Years of the 16th century in literature