ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the methodological process for the research. Whilst corpus methods largely focus on patterns and tendencies within the language, one of the aims of this project is to explore the range and variability of metaphoric characteristics and behaviours. The creation of a middle group subsequently also serves as a source for useful insights into the cases of heavily conventionalised or more problematic/complex metaphors. More generally, it can be claimed that both fiction and non-fiction within the nineteenth century provide a useful source of data for studying metaphor. Aside from being able to contribute to the growing literature on nineteenth century linguistic creativity, choosing a nineteenth century corpus is the result of practical considerations too. From the keyword list, lexical items are explored in terms of their ability to be used metaphorically, their overall frequencies, and their frequency of use in both metaphoric and non-metaphoric senses.
