ABSTRACT
The first chapter investigates Gotthold Lessing’s temporal classification of music and literature, in order to explore the particular transmedial affinity that both arts share. I offer a historical survey of music and literature interaction that outlines various types of combination. Next, I provide an overview of the field of Word and Music Studies. The use of the term “musical” has been a persistent debate in the scholarship. Any direct attempt of one artform to imitate another will always be metaphorical, and one of the main problems in Word and Music Studies has been the futile search for the appropriateness of said metaphors, or an idealised set of absolute or direct correspondences. The main trajectories and issues of the field are explored before a progressive methodology is suggested.
