This volume investigates the intersection of linguistic structures and literary aesthetics through a multi-disciplinary lens. Edited by Seymour Chatman, the collection compiles twenty papers presented at the 1969 Symposium on Literary Style in Bellagio, Italy. The contributors, representing a diverse group of international scholars, apply various analytical frameworks—including structuralism, stylistics, and semiotics—to define the boundaries and mechanisms of literary style.

Experts recognize this collection as a foundational document for the development of modern stylistics and structuralist literary theory. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a primary reference for those studying the evolution of 20th-century critical thought.