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

Death years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:

• 12 April – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (died 1604), English courtier, playwright, poet, sportsman, patron of numerous writers, and sponsor of at least two acting companies
• Also:
  • Baothghalach Mór Mac Aodhagáin (died 1600), Irish poet part of the Mac Aodhagáin clan
  • Kasper Miakskowski (died 1622), Polish^[5]
  • Alexander Montgomerie (died 1598), Scottish
  • Mikolaj Sep Szarzynski born about this year (died c. 1581), Polish
  • Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz (died 1619), rabbi, poet and Torah commentator
  • Richard Rowlands (died 1640), Anglo-Dutch antiquarian and writer
  • Cristóbal de Virués (died 1614), Spanish playwright and poet
• Syed Sultan (died 1648), Bengali poet

Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:

• February – Marcantonio Flaminio (born 1498), Italian, Latin-language poet
• June 2 – Guillaume Bigot (born 1502), French writer, doctor, humanist and poet in French and Latin
• June 12 – Cristobal de Castillejo (born c. 1490), Spanish
• June 13 – Veronica Gambara (born 1485), Italian poet, stateswoman and political leader
• November 7 – Jón Arason (born 1484), Icelandic Roman Catholic bishop and poet, executed
• Also:
  • Pir Sultan Abdal (born c. 1480), Ottoman Empire
  • Nicholas Bourbon (born 1503 or 1505), French court preceptor and poet
  • Gian Giorgio Trissino (born 1478), Italian Renaissance humanist, poet, dramatist, diplomat and grammarian

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

• Spanish Renaissance literature