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ClearIAS » UPSC Civil Services Exam Syllabus (subject-wise) » English Literature Syllabus – Civil Services Mains Exam UPSC

English Literature Syllabus – Civil Services Mains Exam UPSC

Last updated on December 2, 2017 by Alex Andrews George

English Literature Syllabus – Civil Services Mains Exam UPSC :

UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam Optional Subject consists of 2 papers. Each paper is of 250 marks, making a total of 500 marks.

ENGLISH

The syllabus consists of two papers, designed to test a first-hand and critical reading of texts prescribed from the following periods in English Literature: Paper I: 1600-1900 and Paper II : 1900-1990.

There will be two compulsory questions in each paper : a) A short-notes question related to the topics for general study, and b) A critical analysis of UNSEEN passages both in prose and verse.

PAPER-I

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Answers must be written in English.

Texts for detailed study are listed below.

Candidates will also be required to show adequate knowledge of the following topics and movements :

The Renaissance : Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama; Metaphysical Poetry; The Epic and the Mock-epic; Neo-classicism; Satire; The Romantic Movement; The Rise of the Novel; The Victorian Age.

Section-A

1. William Shakespeare : King Lear and The Tempest.

2. John Donne. The following poems :

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– Canonization;

– Death be not proud;

– The Good Morrow;

– On his Mistress going to bed;

– The Relic;

3. John Milton : Paradise Lost, I, II, IV, IX

4. Alexander Pope. The Rape of the Lock.

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5. 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.

7. Henrik Ibsen : A Doll’s House.

Section-B

1. 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.

PAPER-II

Answers must be written in English. Texts for detailed study are listed below.
Candidates will also be required to show adequate knowledge of the following topics and movements :

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Modernism; Poets of the Thirties; The stream-of-consciousness Novel; Absurd Drama; Colonialism and Post-Colonialism; Indian Writing in English; Marxist, Psychoanalytical and Feminist approaches to literature; Post-Modernism.

Section-A

1. 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.

2. T.S. Eliot. The following poems : – The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock – Journey of the Magi.

– Burnt Norton.

3. 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.

4. John Osborne : Look Back in Anger.

5. Samuel Beckett. Waiting for Godot.

6. Philip Larkin. The following poems : – Next
– Please

– Deceptions – Afternoons – Days

– Mr. Bleaney

7. A.K. Ramanujan. The following poems : – Looking for a Causim 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

1. Joseph Conrad. Lord Jim.

2. James Joyce. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

3. D.H. Lawrence. Sons and Lovers.

4. E.M. Forster. A Passage to India.

5. Virginia Woolf. Mrs Dalloway.

6. Raja Rao. Kanthapura.

7. V.S. Naipal. A House for Mr. Biswas.

Additional Links:

  1. Useful Civil Services Books
  2. Civil Services Study Materials for Online Preparation
  3. IAS Question Papers
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About Alex Andrews George

Alex Andrews George is a mentor, author, and entrepreneur. Alex is the founder of ClearIAS and one of the expert Civil Service Exam Trainers in India.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. RAHUL PRATAP SINGH says

    April 24, 2016 at 3:20 pm

    Dear,Sir i want to study material in free of cost.

    Reply
  2. sushmita bhardwaj says

    March 12, 2017 at 6:42 pm

    Sir
    I want the notes for English literature mains optional. I am a new aspirant. I have searched on lots of sites for the above mentioned topic. I wish to get help with you.
    I will be highly obliged

    Reply
  3. Mehrajmalik says

    December 25, 2018 at 1:51 pm

    Respected sir , i am Mehraj malik , sorry i dont know about the procedure about KAS OR IAS , could you please send me procedure on my email , [email protected] And i dont know in which subject we can do Kas or Ias , mine is English literature .so kindly help me sir . That would be your gratitude.
    Regards
    Mehrajmalik

    Reply
  4. Nagaraj Sutar says

    April 9, 2019 at 7:30 pm

    Sir are Braille notes for English literature available?

    Reply
  5. shivani says

    April 18, 2019 at 9:28 am

    i want notes nd guidance for english literature as optional

    Reply
    • Vikram Rajput says

      August 12, 2020 at 11:01 pm

      If you have done PG English Literature then, you know the all the syllabus. Generally for PCS or CSE You have to broaden your knowledge and study deeply

  6. Deepika PS says

    June 14, 2019 at 11:08 pm

    My optional subject is English Literature. In case anyone is looking for coaching for this subject, Prof. K. G. Radhakrishnan in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) offers excellent classes. His contact number is +919495823936 and email address is [email protected] Not sure if he will provide soft copies of notes.

    Reply
    • Ibtesam Sorab says

      January 12, 2021 at 7:25 pm

      will he be providing online classes?

  7. Aayillya says

    August 17, 2019 at 12:40 pm

    Sir
    I want the notes for English literature mains optional. I am a new aspirant. I have searched on lots of sites for the above mentioned topic.

    Reply
  8. Aayillya says

    August 17, 2019 at 12:42 pm

    Sir,
    Can you please guide me to access notes for Subject: English for mains examination .

    Reply
  9. Vishal S says

    October 23, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    My Optional is English Literature for UPSC Civil services, it would be of great help if You can provide Notes.
    You can contact me on 9731430855, for rendering your help.

    Reply
  10. Shreeshti Kumari says

    July 28, 2020 at 1:14 am

    Sir
    I am new aspirant of English literature as optional pls help me sir

    Reply

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