Nowadays, the problem of the representation of multiculturalism in modern poetry needs special consideration. Our research is devoted to the investigation of the specific features of the multicultural component in the poetry of Langston Hughes. The main tasks of the paper are to investigate such notions, as «multiculturalism», «realia», «national identity» and «blues»; and to analyze the linguistic and cultural specificity of Hughes’ poetry. Multiculturalism is a term that came into usage after the idea of a “melting pot». Such scholars as Glazer, Hollinger, and Taylor have been investigating this term. Multicultutralism is the way in which different authors maintain their identity through their work while educating others on their cultural ideas. Multicultural literature is oriented around issues of race, ethnicity, gender, etc. Multicultural American literature of the 20th century resonates with the hopes and fears of the whole of American history and reflects the rich complexity and variety of the American experience. James Mercer Langston Hughes, an American writer who was an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance and made the African American experience the subject of his works. His writings ranged from poetry and plays to novels and newspaper columns. We would like to pay special attention to Langston Hughes’ poetry. «The Negro Speaks of Rivers» was the first poem published in Langston Hughes’s long writing career. The poem first appeared in the magazine Crisis in June of 1921 and was subsequently published in Hughes’s first volume of poetry, The Weary Blues, in 1926, written when he was only 19. «The Negro Speaks of Rivers» as well as the rest of his works treats themes Hughes explored all his life: the experiences of African Americans in history, black identity and pride. Multiculturalism is connected with the notion of realia. It is a linguistic phenomenon, which refers to the culture-specific vocabulary. The works of such well-known scientists, as S. Vlahov, S. Florin, I. Kashkin, A. Fedorov have been central in the study of this issue. The key factor in defining any phenomenon as realia is national referring to the object of a certain country, nation, or social community. National identity is not an inborn trait. It is essentially socially constructed. A person's national identity results from the presence of elements from the «common points» in people's daily lives: national symbols, colors, nation's history, blood ties, and so on. We can find all these aspects (geographical realia, proper names, and many others) in the work of Langston Hughes. While analysing the poems of Langston Hughes we discover that his language is closely connected with the culture. Thus, the idea of multicultural writing is that racial and ethnic minority voices are a crucial element in United States literary history and culture
Multicultural component and its linguistic representation in Langston Hughes’ poetry
