The UPSC Civil Services Exam is conducted in three stages, ie. Prelims, Mains, and Interview stage. English Literature is one of the subjects candidates can choose as their optional in the mains exam. Candidates having an interest in English Literature and Language are recommended to choose it as their optional subject and go through the UPSC English Literature Syllabus. In this article, we will have a detailed look at the English Literature UPSC Syllabus. Candidates can also download the UPSC English Literature Syllabus PDF for free from the link provided below in this article.

• The UPSC English Literature Syllabus consists of two papers which are designed to test a first-hand and critical reading of texts prescribed from the following periods in English Literature.
  • Optional Paper 1: 1600-1900 and,
  • Optional Paper 2: 1900–1990.
• There will be two compulsory questions in each paper:
  1. A short-notes question related to the topics for general study, and,
  2. A critical analysis of UNSEEN passages both in prose and verse.

Check out UPSC Mains Syllabus for other optional subjects.

UPSC English Literature Syllabus - Download PDF

The English Literature optional syllabus for UPSC Mains is based on old English Literature from medieval as well as modern English. Paper I is based on the period of 1600-1900 BC, whereas Paper II is Based on the period of 1900-1990.

UPSC English Literature Optional Syllabus For Paper 1

The UPSC English Literature Syllabus for Optional Paper 1 focuses majorly on the topics like - The Renaissance; Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama; Metaphysical Poetry; The Epic and the Mock-epic; Neoclassicism; Satire; The Romantic Movement; The Rise of the Novel; The Victorian Age. Candidates are expected to be sound with the above-mentioned topics and movements. Have a detailed look at the UPSC English Optional Syllabus for Paper 1 below.

Section-A

• William Shakespeare: King Lear and The Tempest.
• John Donne. The following poems-
  • Canonization.
  • Death be not proud.
  • The Good Morrow.
  • On his Mistress going to bed.
  • The Relic.
• John Milton: Paradise Lost, I, II, IV, IX.
• Alexander Pope. The Rape of the Lock.
• William Wordsworth. The following poems-
  • Ode on Intimations of Immortality.
  • Tintern Abbey.
  • Three years she grew.
  • She dwelt among untrodden ways.
  • Michael.
  • Resolution and Independence.
  • The World is too much with us.
  • Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour.
  • Upon Westminster Bridge.
  • 6. Alfred Tennyson: In Memoriam.
• Henrik Ibsen: A Doll’s House.

Section-B

• Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels.
• 2. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
• 3. Henry Fielding. Tom Jones.
• 4. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
• 5. George Eliot. The Mill on the Floss.
• 6. Thomas Hardy. Tess of the d’Urbervilles.
• 7. Mark Twain. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

UPSC English Literature Syllabus For Optional Paper 2

The UPSC English Literature Syllabus for Optional Paper 2 focuses majorly on the topics like - Modernism; Poets of the Thirties; The stream-of-consciousness Novel; Absurd Drama; Colonialism and PostColonialism; Indian Writing in English; Marxist, Psychoanalytical and Feminist approaches to literature; Post-Modernism. Candidates are expected to be sound with the above-mentioned topics and movements. Have a detailed look at the UPSC English Optional Syllabus for Paper 2 below.

Section-A

• William Butler Yeats. The following poems:
  • Easter 1916.
  • The Second Coming.
  • A Prayer for my daughter.
  • Sailing to Byzantium.
  • The Tower.
  • Among School Children.
  • Leda and the Swan.
  • Meru.
  • Lapis Lazuli.
  • The Second Coming.
  • Byzantium.
• T.S. Eliot. The following poems:
  • The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
  • Journey of the Magi.
  • Burnt Norton.
• W.H. Auden. The following poems :
  • Partition
  • Musee des Beaux Arts
  • In Memory of W.B. Yeats
  • Lay your sleeping head, my love
  • The Unknown Citizen
  • Consider
  • Mundus Et Infans
  • The Shield of Achilles
  • September 1, 1939
  • Petition
• John Osborne: Look Back in Anger.
  • Samuel Beckett. Waiting for Godot.
  • Philip Larkin. The following poems :
  • Next
  • Please
  • Deceptions
  • Afternoons
  • Days
  • Mr. Bleaney
• A.K. Ramanujan. The following poems :
  • Looking for a Cousin on a Swing
  • A River
  • Of Mothers, among other Things
  • Love Poem for a Wife 1
  • Small-Scale Reflections on a Great House
  • Obituary

(All these poems are available in the anthology Ten Twentieth Century Indian Poets, edited by R. Parthasarthy, published by Oxford University Press, New Delhi).

Section-B

• Joseph Conrad. Lord Jim.
• James Joyce. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
• D.H. Lawrence. Sons and Lovers.
• E.M. Forster. A Passage to India.
• Virginia Woolf. Mrs. Dalloway.
• Raja Rao. Kanthapura.
• V.S. Naipaul. A House for Mr. Biswas.

How To Prepare For UPSC English Literature Optional Paper?

UPSC Civil Services is considered to be one of the most difficult exams to get through globally. In such cases, the need to plan and organize the preparation process becomes even more important. Without it, the candidates will not stand a chance to feature in the UPSC Civil Services Exam Merit List and get through to the next stages or be selected for the posts. Here are some tips that may help candidates while preparing for the exam are:

• Analyse Syllabus: Before starting with the preparation, candidates must go through the UPSC English Literature Syllabus in detail to know which topics they have to cover. There are several topics included in the syllabus, candidates must know how to prepare for them wisely and plan out their study.
• Plan a proper schedule: Studying for long hours every day consistently is very important. Candidates must make a daily planner or to-do list to plan the day. Develop a thorough understanding of the socio-political environment of the time period in which the particular is set!
• Focus on Practice: Candidates must pay attention to UPSC Test Series, Mock Tests, Current Affairs and UPSC Previous Year Question Papers. Creating a study calendar is a very efficient way to plan things. Candidates should try to stick to the study calendar as much as they can. There is no shortcut to answer-writing practice, especially for the literature optional, where your answers will be graded on originality and acuity! As a result, get as much practice writing answers as you can! Candidates must revise as much as they can. Ideally, their study calendar should also schedule their revision plan. 

Check UPSC English Literature Previous Year Papers here

UPSC English Syllabus - Recommended Books

Figuring out the books and study resources beforehand would save the candidates lots of market visits and other distractions. We have curated a collection of the best UPSC Civil Services books to prepare for the exam. Get the detailed list of UPSC Books here or get a brief idea about it below:

• Introduction to English Literature by W. H Hudson.
• King Lear by William Shakespeare.
• The Tempest by William Shakespeare.
• Canonization by John Donne.
• Death be not proud by John Donne.
• The Good Morrow by John Donne.
• On his Mistress going to bed by John Donne.
• The relic by John Donne.
• Resolution and Independence- William Wordsworth
• The World is too much with us-William Wordsworth
• Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour-William Wordsworth
• Upon Westminster Bridge-William Wordsworth
• Gulliver’s Travels-Jonathan Swift
• Pride and Prejudice-Jane Austen
• Tom Jones-Henry Fielding
• Hard Times- Charles Dickens
• The Mill on the Floss-George Eliot
• Tess of the d’Urbervilles- Thomas Hardy
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain

We hope you got all the required information related to UPSC English Literature Syllabus. Testbook is committed to providing aspirants with the best study material for various government examinations. Download the Testbook App now and get quick access to the best online learning resources curated by experts.