Early Modern English

====Elizabethan English====
[[File:Gorboduc TP 1565.jpg|thumb|Title page of ''[[Gorboduc (play)|Gorboduc]]'' (printed 1565). ''The Tragedie of Gorbodvc, whereof three Actes were wrytten by Thomas Nortone, and the two laste by Thomas Sackuyle. Sett forthe as the same was shewed before the Qvenes most excellent Maiestie, in her highnes Court of Whitehall, the .xviii. day of January, Anno Domini .1561. By the Gentlemen of Thynner Temple in London.'']]
;[[Elizabethan era]] (1558–1603)
*1560 – The [[Geneva Bible]] was published. The New Testament was completed in 1557 by English Reformed exiles on the continent during the reign of Mary, and the complete Bible three years later, after Elizabeth succeeded the throne.  This version was favoured by the [[Puritans]] and [[Pilgrims]] due to its more vigorous and forceful language. Its popularity and proliferation (due in large part to its copious notes) over the following decades sparked the production of the [[King James Bible]] to counter it.
*1582 – The [[Douay–Rheims Bible|Rheims and Douai Bible]] was completed, and the New Testament was released in [[Rheims]], France, in 1582. It was the first complete English translation of the Bible that was officially sponsored and carried out by the [[Catholic Church]] (earlier translations into English, especially of the Psalms and Gospels existed as far back as the 9th century, but it was the first Catholic English translation of the full Bible). Though the Old Testament was already complete, it was not published until 1609–1610, when it was released in two volumes. While it did not make a large impact on the English language at large, it certainly played a role in the development of English, especially in heavily Catholic English-speaking areas.
*[[Christopher Marlowe]], {{floruit|1586–1593}}
*1592 – ''[[The Spanish Tragedy]]'' by [[Thomas Kyd]]
*{{Circa|1590|1612}} – [[Shakespeare's plays]] written {{see also|Chronology of Shakespeare's plays|Shakespeare's influence}}
{{further|Elizabethan literature|English Renaissance theatre}}