Research on the language of literature has a long tradition under the rubric of philology. This unity of concerns has lapsed as linguistics has become independent and linguistic training for literary scholars has been virtually eliminated. Still, the linguistic revolution of the last five decades has produced substantial work by linguists in prose style, narrative, metrics, poetic syntax, and metaphor.

Style and Textual Function
Approaches to Narrative
Poetic Language and Meter
Poetic Language and Syntax
Literature and Cognitive Metaphor
Reference Articals

Fludernik, M. 1996. Towards a 'natural' narratology. London and New York: Routledge.
Halle, M., and Keyser, S. J. 1972. "English III. The iambic pentameter." Versification: Major language types, ed. by W. K. Wimsatt. New York: Modern Language Association.
Halliday, M. A. K. 1971."Linguistic function and literary style: An inquiry into the language of William Golding¹s The Inheritors." Literary style: A symposium, ed. by S. Chatman. London and New York: Oxford University Press.
Turner, M. 1996. The Literary Mind. New York: Oxford University Press.