UPSC English Syllabus – English Literature Optional UPSC Syllabus, PDF Download
By BYJU'S Exam Prep
Updated on: November 14th, 2023
English Literature Optional UPSC: The English Literature Syllabus is very vast and includes literature from old English used in the medieval and early modern period. The UPSC English Syllabus covers topics which include William Shakespeare: King Lear and The Tempest, John Milton: Paradise Lost, I, II, IV, IX, Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock and many more.
Candidates with a strong English background and an interest in novels, and poetry should take this as an optional subject. It is crucial to go through the detailed UPSC English Literature Syllabus and analyze the topics as per weightage and your strengths. Plan and prepare a comprehensive strategy to cover the optional syllabus in time. English Literature Optional UPSC syllabus for both Paper 1 and Paper 2 has been covered in this article.
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English Literature Optional UPSC Mains Syllabus
A candidate should be familiar with the UPSC English Optional Syllabus as it is included in both Paper 1 and Paper 2. This exam has two papers: Paper 1 and Paper 2 in UPSC Mains. Paper 1 and Paper 2 are of 250 marks and the total marks are 500.
| English Literature Syllabus UPSC | Topics |
| UPSC English Literature Syllabus Paper 1 | Section A: William Shakespeare, John Donne, William Wordsworth, Henrik Ibsen: A Doll’s House.
Section B: Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels, Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice, Henry Fielding. Tom Jones, Charles Dickens. Hard Times, George Eliot. The Mill on the Floss, Thomas Hardy. Tess of the d’Urbervilles Mark Twain. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn |
| UPSC English Syllabus Paper 2 | Section A: Authors such as William Butler Yeats, T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, John Osborne: Look Back in Anger, Samuel Beckett. Waiting for Godot, Philip Larkin.
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, Kantha Pura, V.S. Naipaul. A House for Mr. Biswas. |
UPSC English Literature Syllabus PDF
Candidates preparing for the English Literature Optional UPSC Syllabus must be well-versed with the detailed syllabus so that they can plan the exam preparation in a strategic manner.
UPSC English Syllabus PDF
To download the UPSC English Literature Syllabus PDF, you need to click on the link attached above. Apart from this, you should know about UPSC Mains Syllabus in an intricate manner to fetch a good score in the second stage of the exam.
UPSC English Syllabus: Paper 1
It is important to note that Paper 1 consists of 6 topics in total from the UPSC English Syllabus which are further split into various subtopics.
UPSC English Literature Syllabus Paper 1: Section B
Section B of Paper 1 encloses the following topics from the UPSC English Literature Syllabus. Aspirants must read and understand the synopsis of each topic well to get a decent score.
- Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
- Prejudice and Pride by Jane Austen
- Hard Times by Charles Dickens
- Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
- Tess of the d’Urbervilles
- The Mill of the Floss by George Eliot
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
UPSC English Literature Syllabus: Paper 2
It is crucial to understand that paper 2 bears a total of 6 topics from the UPSC English Optional Syllabus which are further categorized into subtopics.
UPSC English Literature Syllabus Paper 2: Section B
Section B of the Paper 2 asks questions related to the following topics from UPSC English Literature Syllabus. You must make sure to comprehensively cover these topics to be able to write good answers in the actual exam.
- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
- Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
- Lovers and Sons by D.H. Lawrence
- A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
- Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
- Kantha Pura by Raja Rao
- A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul.
How to Prepare UPSC English Syllabus?
It is beneficial for the candidate if he or she follows preparation tips to cover the entire UPSC Syllabus. Below are some preparation strategies for covering the whole syllabus of the English Literature Optional UPSC Mains.
- Make sure that you study for long hours consistently as it is very important for exam preparation.
- You should make a schedule or a timetable for studying different UPSC subjects.
- You must analyze the complete UPSC English Syllabus in order to score well in exams.
- Separate the important topics covered under UPSC English Literature Optional syllabus and make small notes on them.
- Revise them on a regular basis.
- Candidates must solve the UPSC Test series, mock tests, current affairs, and UPSC previous year question papers.
- You can create a study calendar to make things easier for you. This will help you to learn a lot and you can study efficiently.
Best Books to Study English Literature Optional UPSC Syllabus
There is a list of recommended books that are required for the preparation of the UPSC English Optional Syllabus. Some of the most recommended ones are given below.
| Important Books | Publisher Name |
| Introduction to English Literature | W. H Hudson |
| King Lear | William Shakespeare |
| The Tempest | William Shakespeare |
| Canonization | John Donne |
| Death be not proud | John Donne |
| The Good Morrow | John Donne |
| Three years she grew | William Wordsworth |
| Michael | William Wordsworth |
| Gulliver’s Travels | Jonathan Swift |
