Role of linking verbs in literary text (on material of novel 'Pismovnik' by M. Shishkin)

The article deals with the study of the role of linking verbs in the fiction text on the material of the novel "Pismovnik" by M. Shishkin. The paper considers how linking verbs not only fulfil syntactic function, but also become an important tool for conveying the author's vision, expressing the emotional state and perception of the characters' world. A special attention is paid to the communicative aspect of the use of linking verbs, as they help to establish logical and semantic links between the components of the statement, reveal the inner world of the characters, and create a multi-layered atmosphere of the text. In the epistolary novel, where direct interaction between characters is impossible, it is the language of writing and the choice of linking verbs that become the key elements for the formation of temporal and semantic relations. Linking verbs help to form a complex rhema - the core of the utterance, which specifies the subject's state and his/her attitude to characteristics or events. The study of these linguistic means reveals the way the author creates a special artistic reality through their use, conveying both static characteristics of the characters and the dynamics of their changes, which reveals the characters' individual perception of reality.