1673 in literature

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This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 1673.

Events

• February 10 - Première of Molière's comédie-ballet The Imaginary Invalid in Paris. During the fourth performance, on February 17, the playwright, playing the title rôle, collapses on stage, dying soon after.
• With the death of Sir Henry Herbert, Thomas Killigrew is appointed Master of the Revels in England.
• In response to events of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, John Dryden's topical play Amboyna, about events in the East Indies, is reportedly "contrived and written in a month" — certainly one of the fastest acts of solo dramatic composition known. The drama is premièred onstage in May.
• Elkanah Settle's tragedy The Empress of Morocco, premièred on July 3 at the Dorset Gardens Theatre in London by the Duke's Company, is published in quarto; in addition to its frontispiece illustration, the quarto contains five woodcuts depicting scenes in the play — the first English play text illustrated in this way. Settle's play also inspires a farce with the same title, probably by Thomas Duffet, performed by the King's Company and published the following year.
• Archpriest Petrovich Avvakum writes his Zhitie (Life) as the first Russian autobiography.
• Antonio Magliabechi is appointed librarian to Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.

New books

• Bathsua Makin - An Essay to Revive the Ancient Education of Gentlewomen
• England's appeal from the Private Cabal at Whitehall to the Great Council of the Nation by a true Lover of his Country - pamphlet attributed to Sir William Coventry
• Francis Kirkman - The Unlucky Citizen
• Johannes Schefferus - Lapponia
• Shugi Washo
• Thomas Traherne - Roman Forgeries

New drama

• Aphra Behn - The Dutch Lover
• Pedro Calderon de la Barca - La vida es sueño (sacramental play)
• Sir William Davenant - News from Plymouth, The Law Against Lovers, The Fair Favourite, and The Siege published posthumously
• John Dryden
  • Amboyna, or the Cruelties of the Dutch to the English Merchants
  • Marriage à la Mode
• Thomas Duffet - The Spanish Rogue
• Molière - Le malade imaginaire
• Henry Nevil Payne - The Fatal Jealousy
• Edward Ravenscroft - The Careless Lovers
• Elkanah Settle - The Empress of Morocco

Poetry

• Poems of Mr. John Milton (2nd edition)
• Bernarda Ferreira de la Cerda - España libertada (second part)

Births

• January 1 – Johannes Kelpius, German Pietist writer (died 1708)
• October 26 – Dimitrie Cantemir, Moldavian prince and man of letters (died 1723)
• Unknown dates
  • Antoine Banier, French historian and translator (died 1741)
  • George Lockhart, Scottish politician and writer (died 1731)
  • John Oldmixon, English historian (died 1742)

Deaths

• February 17 – Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin), French playwright (born 1622)
• March – Joseph Caryl, English Biblical commentator and preacher (born 1602)
• March 15 – Salvator Rosa, Italian painter and poet (born 1615)
• May 4 – Richard Brathwait, English poet (born 1588)
• November 16 – Katarina Zrinska, Croatian poet (born c. 1625)
• December – Margaret Cavendish, English writer and scientist (born 1623)
• Unknown date – Ingen (Yinyuan Longqi), Chinese-born Buddhist poet (born 1592)