王船山对诗体的认识有许多独到之处。他欣赏古体诗而对近体诗多持批判态度。从诗体的发展角度看,他认为诗体愈卑。与明代的许多诗人不同,船山认为近体诗的繁盛并不始于唐代,而是在陈、隋之际。同时,船山认为近体之制在梁代已经成熟完备。特别值得一提的是,船山于五、七言古体诗和近体诗之间,别立“小诗”一体。这种小诗,当时世称之为绝句,或五言或七言。船山认为,这种诗并非等同于唐代绝句,但是它又很接近绝句,是唐代绝句的雏形,这充分显示了船山在选诗和评诗上深刻的洞察力和高度的鉴赏力。 Wang Chuanshan’s understanding of poetry has many unique features. He admires ancient poetry and holds a critical attitude toward near-verse poetry. From the perspective of the development of poetry, he thinks the poorer the poem. Unlike many poets in the Ming Dynasty, Chuanshan thought that the prosperous of modern poetry did not begin with the Tang Dynasty, but with Chen and Sui. At the same time, Chuanshan thought that the system of near body was mature and perfect in Liang Dynasty. Particularly worth mentioning is that, Chuanshan in five, seven words between classical poetry and near-body poetry, do not stand “little poem ” one. This poem, when the world calls quatrains, or five or seven. Chuanshan believes that this poem is not equivalent to the quatrains of the Tang Dynasty, but it is very close to the quatrains, which is the embryonic form of the quatrains of the Tang Dynasty, which fully shows Chuanshan’s profound insight and high appreciation of poetry selection and poem evaluation.