詩之純粹性是現代詩史中不斷被提起的概念，也是以「現代」自居的詩人們所念茲在茲的課題。因新文學成立之後，格律與音韻等束縛的解放意味情感可以不受限制，因此詩歌必須是來自詩人的情感與內心的自由表現；但它又必須與一般的現代散文有所區隔，因此詩歌的美學形式、語言資源、甚至與讀者的關係等等，都是有待重新建立的領域。而詩之純粹性，無疑是這曲折道路中所出現的嚴肅探索。然而，詩之純粹性概念與其說是自發於台灣或中國詩壇的內部，毋寧更是有著西方的影響足跡。它的出現，首先與知識的專業分化與藝術自主概念的發展脫離不了關係，也與詩在散文的崛起中走向邊緣化的處境深深相繫。而純粹性作為一種策略，對外，是拒絕詩不受政治、道德與意識型態的侵擾；對內，則是思索詩之所以為詩，且新詩與現代詩之所以為「新」為「現代」的本質所在。緣此，本文以西方的純粹詩作為理解的切入點，進而探討在台灣的詩人──尤其是楊熾昌與紀弦這兩位分別開啟戰前與戰後現代詩實踐的詩人，了解他們究竟在怎樣的現代性自覺中詮釋詩之純粹性，並分析其純粹性理念在作品中所呈現的風貌，乃至理論與實踐之間的落差與限制。本文的目的，除了考察詩之純粹性的內在動力與發展軌跡外，也試圖透過比較的視野審視台灣現代詩在文學的現代轉化過程中所展開的自我重構，藉此另闢美學蹊徑來參與文學現代性的探討。

Purity of poetry has been an important concept to modern Chinese and Taiwanese poets since the commencement of New Literature. New poetry eliminated the limitations of rhyme schemes and tonal patterns, which allowed poets to express their emotions and thoughts with more freedom. But, the use of vernacular in poetry also made it necessary to distinguish new poetry from prose, which in turn moved poets to probe the new aesthetic and linguistic forms, and even to adjust their relationship with readers. The purity of poetry is no doubt the poets’ earnest pursuit of what modern poetry ought to be. Pure poetry advocates ridding poetry of interference from social and political ideologies, and emphasizes the components of pure poetic form. By focusing on Yang Chih-Chang’s and Ji Xian’s conception of pure poetry, this essay analyzes how pure poetry, originally from the West, and especially as influenced by French symbolism, was conceived and put into practice. The aims of this essay are, firstly, to describe the inner drive and outside trajectories of the pure poetry movement in Taiwan. Secondly, from a comparative point of view, it will look at how Taiwanese modern poetry reconstructed itself while facing the impact of literary modernization. In pursuit of these two aims, the author hopes that this essay will provoke new discussions on literary modernity from the perspective of pure poetry, which has long been neglected by literary researchers.