Home  >  Articles  >  MA English Syllabus: Subjects, Semester Wise, Books, Entrance Exam Syllabus, Top Colleges

MA English Syllabus: Subjects, Semester Wise, Books, Entrance Exam Syllabus, Top Colleges

Course

Lipi Kaushik

Updated on 08th July, 2024 , 6 min read

About MA English 

MA English is a 2-year program that examines cultural, historical, and societal themes in works of literature by authors of various ages. MA English courses are open to students with a graduation degree and 45–50%. The course of MA English syllabus is broken down into four semesters. The selection of literature for the MA English syllabus is made by the universities. Because of their superior MA English syllabus, top universities are in high demand. Core and elective courses may be included in an MA in English curriculum. Typical topics covered in an English MA curriculum include:

  • Modern English usage and grammar
  • English poetry from Chaucer to Milton
  • Eighteenth-century English literature
  • American literature
  • Language and linguistics
  • Works of Shakespeare
  • Indian literature
  • 19th and 20th century novels
  • 20th century poetry and drama
  • European comedy
  • Foreign languages 

Related Articles:-

MA English Course Highlights

The information about the MA English course is given below -

ParticularsMA English Details
Level of CoursePostgraduate
Duration of MA English Course2 Years
MA English Eligibility CriteriaCandidates who have pursued a BA in English or equivalent degree with a minimum overall aggregate of 50% are eligible.
MA English Admission ProcessEntrance based admission process and direct admission process
MA English Top Entrance ExamsCUET
MA English Average Course FeeEnglish and Foreign Language University Entrance Examination (EFLU Entrance Exam)
Average Starting SalaryINR 40K - INR 60K
Job OptionsContent Writer
Copywriter
Teacher
Translator
Stenographer
Editor
Top RecruitersTimes of India, Hindustan Times, Popxo, India Today, IDiva, British Council, Zomato, Accenture, etc.

MA English Syllabus

MA English Syllabus: First Year
English Poetry from Chaucer to MiltonEighteenth Century English Literature
Literary Criticism IEuropean Comedy
Seventeenth Century DramaEighteenth Century Drama
Language and LinguisticsShakespeare
Literature and GenderRomantic Paper
New Literatures in English-
MA English Syllabus: Second Year
Indian Literature I20th Century Poetry and Drama
19th Century NovelLiterature and the Visual Arts in Europe
20th Century NovelLiterature and the Visual Arts in American Literature
Literary Criticism 2Indian Literature I
The Novel in IndiaAncient Greek and Latin Literature

Also Check:-

MA English Semester Wise Syllabus

The MA English curriculum is broken up into four semesters. The MA in English program lasts for two years. At various points during the course, students are able to select which prose, poem, or novel they will be studying.

MA English First Semester Subjects -

MA English Syllabus TopicsSubjects
Structure of Modern EnglishCommunication
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Semantics
English FictionJonathan Swift: Gulliver’s Travels
Henry Fielding: Joseph Andrews
Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice
Charles Dickens: David Copperfield
George Eliot: Middlemarch
Traditional English DramaBen Jonson: Volpone
Christopher Marlowe: Dr Faustus
William Congreve: The Way of the World
Sheridan: The School for Scandal
William Goldsmith: She Stoops To Conquer
Indian Verses (Elective)Background to Indian English Poetry
Nissim Ezekiel
Arun Kolatkar – Jejuri
The Old Playhouse and Other Poems – Kamala Das
English Language and Literature Teaching (Elective)Methods and Approaches to Language Teaching
Teaching of Grammar
Teaching of Language Skills
Dimensions of Research in English Language and English Literature
Teaching of Poetry, Drama, Fiction
Approaches to Teaching of Literature
Research Methodology (Elective)What is Research?
Constructing Research Design
Research Process
Dimensions of Research in English Language and English Literature
Development, Hypothesis and Preparation of Research Proposal
Research Process
Dimensions of Research in English Language and English Literature
Development, Hypothesis and Preparation of Research Proposal

Read More: MA Subjects and Syllabus

MA English Second Semester Subjects

MA English Syllabus TopicsSubjects
The Structure of Modern EnglishLanguage and Society
Distinctive Features of British, American and Indian English
Pragmatics
English in India
Introduction to Stylistics
English FictionThomas Hardy: Jude the Obscure
Joseph Conrad: Lord Jim
D. H. Lawrence: Sons and Lovers
Graham Greene: The Power and the Glory
EM Forster: A Passage to India
Modern English DramaGB Shaw: Candida
TS Eliot: Murder in the Cathedral
Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot
Harold Pinter: Home Coming
John Osborne: Look Back in Anger
Indian Prose Works (Elective)Background to Indian Prose
Kanthapura
Lokmanya Tilak – Essays from Bal Gangadhar Tilak
RK Narayan: An Astrologer’s Day
Rohinton Mistry: A Fine Balance

MA English Third Semester Subjects

MA English Syllabus TopicsSubjects
Literary Theory and CriticismAristotle: The Poetics
Philip Sidney: An Apology of Poetry
Dr Johnson: A Preface to Shakespeare
William Wordsworth: A Preface to Lyrical Ballads
Matthew Arnold: The Study of Poetry
English PoetryJohn Milton: Paradise Lost Book
John Donne: The Sun Rising
Andrew Marvell: To His Coy Mistress
Alexander Pope: The Rape of The Lock
William Blake: From Songs of Innocence
English Language and Literature Teaching (Elective)Methods and Approaches to Language Teaching
Teaching of Grammar
Relationship between Psychology and Teaching of Language
Teaching of Language Skills
Approaches to the Teaching of Literature
Teaching of Poetry, Drama and Fiction

MA English Fourth Semester Subjects

MA English Syllabus TopicsSubjects
Literary Theory and CriticismT.S.Eliot: Tradition and the Individual Talent
F.R.Leavis: Literature and Society
Northrope Frye: The Archetypes of Literature
Ronald Barthes: The Death of the Author
Elaine Showalter: Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness
English PoetryColeridge: The Rime of Ancient Mariner
William Wordsworth Poetry
Tennyson Poetry
Robert Browning Poetry
W. B. Yeats Poetry
ShakespeareKing Lear
Macbeth
Julius Caesar
Measure for Measure
Tempest
American Literature (Elective)Background Topics
Arthur Miller: The Death of a Salesman
Edward Albee: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men
Poetry

MA English Syllabus: Top Colleges

Below are some of the leading universities offering the literary works found in MA English are more pertinent to today's literary enthusiasts. The MA English syllabus includes topics on more contemporary ideas in our society. 

DU MA English Syllabus -

MA English course is offered in Delhi University. The candidates who are interested in studying the course should make sure to know about the complete syllabus. Furthermore, the MA English Syllabus DU can be found below:-

MA English Syllabus: Year 1

MA English Subjects: Semester 1MA English Subjects: Semester 2
Life, Literature and Culture: Medieval LiteratureLife, Literature and Culture: 16th and 17th Century
Life, Literature and Culture: Early Modern WorldCriticism and Theory
Classical To Pre Modern LiteratureIntroduction to the Study of Language
Poetry 1Poetry II
Aesthetics and LiteratureFiction Literature of the Americas
Politics Literature and PhilosophyDalit Studies

MA English Syllabus: Year 2

MA English Subjects: Semester 3MA English Subjects: Semester 4
Life, Literature and Culture in the 18th CenturyLife, Literature and Culture in the 20th Century
Life, Literature and Culture in the 19th CenturyPost-Independence India Literature
Postcolonial Literature and TheoryReligion and Literature
Research MethodologyDissertation
Criticism and Theory-
Gender Studies-

IGNOU MA English Syllabus

First Year
British PoetryBritish Drama
British NovelAspects of Language
Second Year
Literary Criticism and TheoryAmerican Literature
Indian English LiteratureNew Literatures in English
Australian LiteratureEnglish Studies in India
American NovelA Survey Course in 20th Century Canadian Literature
Writings from the MarginsContemporary Indian Literature in English Translation
Comparative Literature: Theory and PracticeIndian Folk Literature

MA English Syllabus in JNU

First Year
Modern English Usage Phonetics & Language Grammar and usage
Theme Writing
Word substitution, Idioms and Phrases, Synonyms and Antonyms
Literary Appreciation
Advanced Comprehension
Aspects of Pronunciation and Word Structure
English Literature : Elizabethans and Augustans   The Duchess of Malfi
King Lear
The Tempest
Paradise Lost
The Battle of the Books
 Ode to Simplicity
English Literature : Pre-romantics and RomanticsOde to Evening
Ode on the Distant Prospect of Eton College
Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
The Rivals
The Prelude, Book 1
The Rime of Ancient Mariner
Kubla Khan
Ode to Grecian Um
Victorian Literature Mansfield Park
Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus
Spring and Fall
Pied Beauty
A Tale of Two Cities
Wuthering Heights
Jude the Obscure
Second Year Syllabus
Literary Theory    Poetics
Natyashastra (Chapter I) and Rasadhyaya (Chapter VI)
Essay on Dramatic Poesy
Essay on Criticism
Biographia Literaria
Tradition Individual Talent
Twentieth Century Literature : Poetry and Drama    From A Pocket Book of Modern Verse
The Waste Land
Toad, Coming, At Grass, The Whitsun Wedding
Pike, View of a Pig, Home Roosting, Thistles
Saint Joan
Riders to the Sea
Waiting for Godot
The Birthday Party
 Shooting an Elephant
A Portrait of the Artist as a Youngman
The Rainbow
To the Lighthouse
The Toy Shop
American Literature    -
Applied Linguistics and Contemporary English Grammar-

MA English Syllabus in BHU

Semester 1Semester 2
Introduction to LinguisticsLinguistics and English Language Teaching
Poetry I (Chaucer to Blake)Poetry II (Wordsworth to Arnold)
Drama I (Marlowe to Wilde excluding Shakespeare)Drama II (Shakespeare)
ProseFiction I (Defoe to Hardy)
Semester 3Semester 4
Poetry III (Hopkins to Ted Hughes)Fiction II
Drama III (Twentieth Century Drama)Literary Criticism & Theory II
Literary Criticism & Theory 1Indian Literature in English II
Indian Literature in English IIndian Literature in Translation or New Literatures in English
American Literature IWomen Writing

MA English Syllabus PU

Semester 1Semester 2
Greek and Classical LiteratureModern Drama
Classical PoetryRenaissance and Neoclassical Literature
Study Skills19th Century Poetry
17th Century PoetryTwentieth-Century Novel
18th Century NovelVictorian Novel
Elizabethan DramaLiterary Criticism
Semester 3Semester 4
Critical Theory20th Century Poetry
American FictionPost-Colonial Fiction
American DramaTwentieth-Century Drama
American PoetryLinguistics
20th Century ProseLiterature in English around the World Short Stories
Research MethodologyEssays

MA English Entrance Exam Syllabus

In order to get admission to prestigious colleges for an MA in English, students must pass entrance exams. The following is a list of the MA English syllabus:

  • Medieval Poetry
  • Modern and Postmodern Critical Theories
  • Early 20th-Century Fiction and Drama
  • Neo-classical Criticism and Theory
  • 18th-Century Poetry, Drama and Fiction
  • Early 20th-Century Poetry (up to WWII)
  • American Literature
  • Classical Theory
  • Contemporary Writings
  • Romantic Criticism
  • Indian Literature
  • Indian Writing in English
  • Dalit Literature
  • Language and Comprehension
  • Research Methodology
  • 17th-Century Poetry
  • Early Modern Poetry
  • 19th-Century Poetry, Drama and Novel

MA English Books

BooksAuthor
HamletWilliam Shakespeare
King Lear
Troilus and Cressida
Measure for Measure
Tempest
The Winter’s Tale
Dr FaustusMarlowe
Kyd: The Spanish Tragedy
The Duchess of MalfWebster
Massinger: A New Way to Pay Old Debts
Samson AgonistesJohn Milton
Congreve: The Way of the WorldJohn Dryden
Gulliver’s TravelsJonathan Swift
Songs of Innocence and Songs of ExperienceWilliam Blake

Top MA English Colleges in India

College NameFees (INR)
Lady Shri Ram College for Women 17,976
Loyola College, Chennai 11,400
Christ University, Bangalore 61,500
Miranda House, New Delhi 14,530
Hindu College, New Delhi 18,010
Fergusson College, Pune 9,680
Presidency University, Kolkata 2,220
Gargi College, New Delhi 12,081
St Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad 31,670
Lady Brabourne College, Kolkata 27,174

Check out the Course wise Subjects Breakdown in the section below - 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the MA English Syllabus?

Ans. The MA English syllabus focuses on several topics such as 20th Century Poetry and Drama, 19th Century Novel, Elective Papers: Literature and the Visual Arts in Europe or American Literature, etc. MA English syllabus is structured on the basis of the 2-year course.

How many subjects are in the course of MA English?

Ans. There are majorly 4 subjects in the MA English course. Additionally, the MA English subjects include Poetry, Prose, Drama and Linguistics.

What is the scope in the field of MA English?

Ans. There is a huge scope in MA English. The candidates who complete the course of MA in English will have the scope opportunity in the following courses:- Editor Web Content Writer Teacher SEO Blogger Public servant Proofreader Copywriter

Is a Masters in English hard?

Ans. No, the course of Masters in English is really easy, given the candidate is consistent and hard working with the studies.

Is MA in English a good course?

Ans. MA in English is an amazing course. Through this course, the candidates can develop various skills like written skills, critical thinking skills, etc.

Check Eligibility   Free 1:1 Counselling