“Is literature language? or Is language literature?” questions the title of C. J. Brumfit and S. J. Burke’s article, one of the first to discuss the language-based approach to literature in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). Although largely rejected as a valid language teaching resource in years preceding 1980s, the number of scholarly discussions on various methods and techniques of implementing literature in EFL teaching syllabi has over the last three decades increased significantly. The late eighties, and especially early nineties, brought about numerous publications by linguists and teachers alike, which began to appreciate literary output as a valuable language resource, emphasizing different approaches to reinstate literature in formal EFL teaching. Consequently, poems, novels and plays went from being disregarded as too complex and impractical, to being suggested as enriching and fulfilling, even necessary elements of English language acquisition. However, the matter of teaching something that unique, enriching, and enjoyable, yet unpredictable, unchanged and complex, naturally demands a detailed study of the elemental teaching aspects: pedagogical, cultural, methodological and, most importantly, linguistic. To present literature in the English classroom, both theoretical approaches and equally important first-hand, teachers’ experiences have to be considered. Continuing, or rather, expanding the analysis of literature in language teaching, this work aims to further examine significant developments and approaches to introducing literature in EFL teaching, over the period of recent history, by focusing on its practical viewpoint – EFL classroom teaching practice. With the invaluable feedback from teachers of English, this works brings the discussion on the specific level of Croatian education, with the idea that the insights of the context could possibly be applicable in similar world-wide EFL situations. Exploring theoretical approaches, and their practical applications, the work furthermore intends to offer, in its contemporary perspective, a study of both the role and place of literature in EFL teaching today, as well as its benefits on EFL acquisition.