1602 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1602.
Events
- February 2 – The Lord Chamberlain's Men perform Twelfth Night at the Middle Temple in London.
- May – Henry Wotton returns to Florence having disclosed a plot to murder King James VI of Scotland.
- May 4 – Richard Hakluyt is installed as prebendary of Westminster Abbey.
- November 8 – The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford opens to scholars.
- November 22 – Samuel Rowley and William Bird are paid by the Admiral's Men for additions to Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus.
New books
Prose
- Tommaso Campanella – The City of the Sun
- Thomas Campion – Observations in the Art of English Poetry
- Richard Carew – A Survey of Cornwall
- Cipriano de Valera – 'Reina-Valera'
- Sir Hugh Plat – ''Delightes for Ladies''
Drama
- Anonymous – A Larum for London, or The Siedge of Antwerpe with the actes and valorous deeds of the lame soldier published
- Henry Chettle – Hoffmann
- John Davies of Hereford – Mirum in Modum
- Thomas Dekker – Blurt, Master Constable, or The Spaniards Night-Walke published
- Ben Jonson – The Poetaster published
- Sir David Lyndsay – Humanity and Sensuality and A Satire of the Three Estates published
- John Marston – Antonio and Mellida published
- William Percy – A Country Tragaedye in Vacunium and The Aphrodysial, or, Sea-Feast: a Marinall
- William Shakespeare – Hamlet performed, The Merry Wives of Windsor published, Troilus and Cressida probable completion date
- "W.S." – Thomas Lord Cromwell published
Poetry
- Giambattista Marino – Le Rime
- Cristóbal de Virués – ''El Monserrate segundo''
Births
- March 29 – John Lightfoot, English theologian
- April 30 – Robert Baillie, Scottish divine and historian
- May 2 – Athanasius Kircher, German scholar
- May 10 – Samuel Newman, American Biblical commentator
- October or November – Dudley North, English poet, writer and politician
- Unknown date – Juan Pérez de Montalbán, Spanish dramatist and poet
- Approximate year – Owen Feltham, English essayist
Deaths
- February 13 – Alexander Nowell, English theologian
- September 14 – Jean Passerat, French poet and satirist
- October 13 – Franciscus Junius (the elder), Swiss theologian
- October 30 – Jean-Jacques Boissard, French poet
- Unknown date – Jean Pithou, French legal writer