本文以一九七六到二○○二年間，向陽發表在期刊和詩集中的臺語詩為研究範圍。觀察重點有二：其一、縱面的觀察：「連貫性」。本文所謂的「連貫性」，是指一個人在不同時期或不同詩集裡所用的漢字的連貫性。透過對上述材料的縱向的研究，希望能完整地展現向陽壹語詩的用字在不同時期的各種變化。其二、斷面的觀察：「用字一致性」。藉由對研究材料的橫向的探索，期盼能瞭解每本詩集裡，同一個詞是否用固定的漢字代表。文中除了對照其他臺語詩人的用字外，並歸納向陽個人用字習慣，以看出從早期至後期的變化。

This paper takes Xiang-Yang’s Taiwanese poetry published in periodicals and anthologies from 1976 to 2002 as range of study. There is two main observations: 1) A longitudinal observation on “continuity”: This so-called continuity is the consistency of character using in one’s different time and his different anthologies. Through the longitudinal research, we could unfold completely the various changes of character using in Xiang-Yang’s Taiwanese poems each period. 2) A cross-sectional observation on “the uniformity of character using”: Through the cross-sectional exploration, we could realize whether he does use the fixed Chinese character to express identical word in each anthology. In this study I compared Xiang-Yang’s Taiwanese poetry with the other Taiwanese poets, additionally I concluded the Xiang-Yang’s inertia in character using, to find the changes from the early period to the later period.