八十年代以降，隨著中國官方文藝政策的鬆動，「現代主義」開始走出合法化危機的陰影而成為學術研究的對象，由此也帶動了新詩研究的蓬勃。然則，由於原始史料的闕如以及研究視野的限制，學術界在重理四十年代新詩理論，尤其現代主義詩學方面，猶有可進一步探討的餘地。是文冀能透過對史料的考掘和整理，重回彼時的話語脈絡，從「題材領域的轉向」、「藝術經營的尋求」、「抒情方式的新變」等角度入手，以現代主義詩學的建構為中心，描畫四十年代新詩理論於依稀仿佛之間。鑒於文評家袁可嘉對新詩實踐進行的現代主義總結意義重大，此文著力從歷史後見出發，論析其詩觀詩學的來龍去脈，尤屬意於「現代化」與「本土化」的辯駁。

From the 1980s onward, modern Chinese poetry has gained in popularity. Modern poetics from the 1940s, however, has yet to receive a thorough treatment. This is due, in part, to the unavailability of source materials. Through the use of recently-discovered reference materials, this paper intends to conduct an in-depth exploration of modern poetics in China during the 1940s. By contextualizing the competing poetical discourses, this paper investigates three trends found in this period: the change of subject matter, the pursuit of crafts, and the reform of lyric modes. The ultimate aim is to bring renewed life to the scholarship on poetics from this period and to open a new critical dimension for the study of modern Chinese poetry.