Abstract: Pentasyllabic regulated verse is the most classical poetry genre in ancient China. However, it is also controversial in the process of its formation and development because of its formal norms. Different from the traditional ways which explain the reason of pentasyllabic regulated verse appearing from the culture background and author factors, this article reconsiders the reason why pentasyllabic regulated verse appeared and what is the mean of poetry form itself from the perspective of Formalism.

Key words: Formalism, pentasyllabic regulated verse, poetry form