The year 1638 in literature involved some significant events.

Events

• February 6 - Luminalia, a masque written by Sir William Davenant and designed by Inigo Jones, is staged at the English Court.
• March 27 - the King's Men perform Chapman's tagedy Bussy D'Ambois at Court.
• October 27 - the King's Men act Ben Jonson's Volpone at the Blackfriars Theatre.
• Swiss engraver Matthäus Merian produces his illustrated view of London.

New books

• Méric Casaubon - A Treatise of Use and Custom
• Johann Amos Comenius - Janua Linguarum Reserata, or a Seed-Plot of All Languages and Sciences
• Sir Kenelm Digby - A Conference With a Lady About a Choice of Religion
• Robert Fludd - Philosophia Moysaica
• John Lilburne - A Work of the Beast
• Philip Massinger - The Duke of Milan (second quarto)
• Captain John Underhill - News from America, or a New and Experimental Discovery of New England
• John Wilkins - The Discovery of a World in the Moon

New drama

• Richard Brome - The Antipodes
• Antonio Coello - El conde de Sex, o Dar la vida por su dama
• Pierre Corneille - Le Cid (first English translation)
• Abraham Cowley - Naufragium Joculare (in Latin)
• William Davenant
• The Unfortunate Lovers
• The Fair Favorite
• Luminalia (masque)
• Brittania Triumphans (masque)
• John Ford
• The Lady's Trial licensed
• The Fancies Chaste and Noble published
• Thomas Heywood - The Wise Woman of Hogsdon published
• William Johnson - Valetudinarium (in Latin)
• Thomas Jordan (attributed) - The Wasp
• Henry Killigrew – The Conspiracy published
• John Kirke (?) or Wentworth Smith (?) - The Seven Champions of Christendom published
• Tirso de Molina - Las Quinas de Portugal
• Thomas Nabbes - The Bride
• Thomas Randolph - Amyntas, or the Impossible Dowry published
• William Rowley - A Shoemaker a Gentleman published
• Pierre du Ryer - Alcione
• Henry Shirley - The Martyr'd Soldier published
• James Shirley
• The Royal Master performed and published
• The Duke's Mistress published
• Sir John Suckling - The Goblins

New poetry

• John Barclay - The Mirror of Minds (posthumous)
• Richard Braithwaite (alias "Corymbaeus") - Barnabee's Journal (In Latin and English versions)
• Abraham Cowley - Love's Riddle
• William Davenant - Madagascar, with other Poems
• Francis Lenton - Great Britain's Beauties; or, The Female Glory Epitomized
• Shackerley Marmion - A Funeral Sacrifice, to the Sacred Memory of his Thrice-Honored Father, Ben Jonson
• John Milton - Lycidas

Births

• January 24 - Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, poet (died 1706)
• May 13 - Richard Simon, Biblical commentator (died 1712)
• August 6 - Nicolas Malebranche, philosopher (died 1715)
• October - Edmé Boursault, dramatist (died 1701)

Deaths

• January 27 - Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, novelist (born c.1585)
• June 25 - Juan Pérez de Montalbán, dramatist, poet and novelist (born c.1602)
• December 8 - Ivan Gundulić, poet (born 1589)
• date unknown - Jeremias Drexel, Jesuit writer (born 1581)