Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France).

• December 4 – John of the Cross (Juan de Yepes) is imprisoned in Toledo, Spain. During his imprisonment he composes his Spiritual Canticle (Cántico Espiritual).^[1]

• Nicholas Breton:
  • The Works of a Young Wit^[2]
  • A Flourish upon Fancy^[2]
• John Grange, The Golden Aphroditis, poetry and prose^[2]

• Philippe Desportes, an edition of his works; France^[3]
• Guillaume Du Bartas, La Semaine, ou Création du Monde, France^[4]
• Eoghan O'Duffy, tr. by John O'Daly (1864), The Apostasy of Myler Magrath, Archbishop of Cashel, Cashel, County Tipperary. Composed as Irish bardic poetry in 1577.^[5]

• March – George Sandys (died 1644), English traveller, colonist and poet
• November 10 – Jacob Cats (died 1660), Dutch poet

• March 6 – Rémy Belleau (born 1528), French poet and member of La Pléiade
• April 21 – Girolamo Parabosco (born c. 1524), Italian poet and musician
• August 12 – Sir Thomas Smith (born 1513), English scholar, diplomat and poet
• October 7 – George Gascoigne (born c. 1535), English poet who died while a guest at George Whetstone's family manor of Walcot at Barnack, near Stamford, Lincolnshire; Whetstone commemorated his friend in a long elegy.
• Also:
  • Annibale Cruceio (born 1509), Italian, Latin-language poet^[6]

• Poetry
• 16th century in poetry
• 16th century in literature
• Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age literature
• Elizabethan literature
• French Renaissance literature
• Renaissance literature
• Spanish Renaissance literature