MA in English Syllabus & Subjects 2025

MA English syllabus and course covers critical theory, linguistics, and literature, English-language. Apart from this, MA English core subjects include Indian writing, American and British literature, literary criticism, and postcolonial studies. Other subjects covered in MA English include translation studies, gender studies, and world literature.

MA English Syllabus 2025: A Comprehensive Guide

MA English syllabus and subjects involves all things English Literature that include American Literature, Fiction, Indian Literature, Criticism Theory, Linguistics, Drama, and others. MA English is a 2-year program that examines cultural, historical, and societal themes in works of literature by authors of various ages. Students are eligible for MA English course with a graduation degree with 45–50% from a reputed institute. The Master's of Arts course syllabus in English is broken down into 4 semesters. The selection of literature for the MA English syllabus differ from university to university. 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:-

BA English

BA English Subjects

English Honors Syllabus

MA English Course Highlights

The information about the MA English course is given below -

Particulars	MA English Details
Level of Course	Postgraduate
Duration of MA English Course	2 Years
MA English Eligibility Criteria	Candidates who have pursued a BA in English or equivalent degree with a minimum overall aggregate of 50% are eligible.
MA English Admission Process	Entrance based admission process and direct admission process
MA English Top Entrance Exams	CUET
MA English Average Course Fee	English and Foreign Language University Entrance Examination (EFLU Entrance Exam)
MA English Average Course Fee	INR 40K - INR 60K
MA English Average Salary	INR 2 LPA to INR 8 LPA
MA English Job Options	Content Writer Copywriter Teacher Translator Stenographer Editor
MA English Top Recruiters	Times 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 Milton	Eighteenth Century English Literature
Literary Criticism I	European Comedy
Seventeenth Century Drama	Eighteenth Century Drama
Language and Linguistics	Shakespeare
Literature and Gender	Romantic Paper
New Literatures in English	-

MA English Syllabus: Second Year
Indian Literature I	20th Century Poetry and Drama
19th Century Novel	Literature and the Visual Arts in Europe
20th Century Novel	Literature and the Visual Arts in American Literature
Literary Criticism 2	Indian Literature I
The Novel in India	Ancient Greek and Latin Literature

Also Check:-

Arts Subjects

BA Subjects

dartmouth best ivy colleges

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 Topics	Subjects
Structure of Modern English	Communication
	Phonology
	Morphology
	Syntax
	Semantics
English Fiction	Jonathan Swift: Gulliver’s Travels
	Henry Fielding: Joseph Andrews
	Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice
	Charles Dickens: David Copperfield
	George Eliot: Middlemarch
Traditional English Drama	Ben 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 Topics	Subjects
The Structure of Modern English	Language and Society
	Distinctive Features of British, American and Indian English
	Pragmatics
	English in India
	Introduction to Stylistics
English Fiction	Thomas 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 Drama	GB 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 Topics	Subjects
Literary Theory and Criticism	Aristotle: 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 Poetry	John 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 Topics	Subjects
Literary Theory and Criticism	T.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 Poetry	Coleridge: The Rime of Ancient Mariner
	William Wordsworth Poetry
	Tennyson Poetry
	Robert Browning Poetry
	W. B. Yeats Poetry
Shakespeare	King 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 Core Subjects 2025

The core subjects that the students will have in their curriculum for MA in English are listed in the table below:

Subject	Description
Shakespeare	Study of Shakespeare's plays, poetry, and the Elizabethan era.
Literary Criticism 1 & 2	Theoretical and practical analysis and interpretation of literature, including various movements, periods, and critical approaches.
Language and Linguistics	Structure, function, and development of language, including morphology, syntax, phonetics, phonology, semantics, and sociolinguistics.
English Poetry from Chaucer to Milton	The progression of English poetry up to the late seventeenth-century.
Eighteenth Century English Literature	Focus on reason, wit, and neoclassicism, and the rise of the novel during the Age of Enlightenment.
British Literature III: Victorian Times to Modern Times	The evolution of literature from 1837 to the present day, influenced by industrialization, societal changes, and intellectual movements.
British Literature II: Dryden to Romantic Age	Transition from the Neoclassical to the Romantic era, examining key authors and literary movements.
British Literature I: Chaucer to Milton	Development of English literature from the late Middle Ages to the early 17th century.
20th Century Poetry and Drama	The rise of modernism, exploring themes of disillusionment, war, and societal change.
19th & 20th Century Novel	The influence of social and political changes on the novel, and the rise of realism, modernism, and postmodernism.

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 1	MA English Subjects: Semester 2
Life, Literature and Culture: Medieval Literature	Life, Literature and Culture: 16th and 17th Century
Life, Literature and Culture: Early Modern World	Criticism and Theory
Classical To Pre Modern Literature	Introduction to the Study of Language
Poetry 1	Poetry II
Aesthetics and Literature	Fiction Literature of the Americas
Politics Literature and Philosophy	Dalit Studies

MA English Syllabus: Year 2

MA English Subjects: Semester 3	MA English Subjects: Semester 4
Life, Literature and Culture in the 18th Century	Life, Literature and Culture in the 20th Century
Life, Literature and Culture in the 19th Century	Post-Independence India Literature
Postcolonial Literature and Theory	Religion and Literature
Research Methodology	Dissertation
Criticism and Theory	-
Gender Studies	-

IGNOU MA English Syllabus -

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

First Year
British Poetry	British Drama
British Novel	Aspects of Language

Second Year
Literary Criticism and Theory	American Literature
Indian English Literature	New Literatures in English
Australian Literature	English Studies in India
American Novel	A Survey Course in 20th Century Canadian Literature
Writings from the Margins	Contemporary Indian Literature in English Translation
Comparative Literature: Theory and Practice	Indian Folk Literature

MA English Syllabus in JNU -

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

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
English Literature : Pre-romantics and Romantics	Ode to Simplicity
	Ode 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 -

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

Semester 1	Semester 2
Introduction to Linguistics	Linguistics and English Language Teaching
Poetry I (Chaucer to Blake)	Poetry II (Wordsworth to Arnold)
Drama I (Marlowe to Wilde excluding Shakespeare)	Drama II (Shakespeare)
Prose	Fiction I (Defoe to Hardy)

Semester 3	Semester 4
Poetry III (Hopkins to Ted Hughes)	Fiction II
Drama III (Twentieth Century Drama)	Literary Criticism & Theory II
Literary Criticism & Theory 1	Indian Literature in English II
Indian Literature in English I	Indian Literature in Translation or New Literatures in English
American Literature I	Women Writing

MA English Syllabus PU -

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

Semester 1	Semester 2
Greek and Classical Literature	Modern Drama
Classical Poetry	Renaissance and Neoclassical Literature
Study Skills	19th Century Poetry
17th Century Poetry	Twentieth-Century Novel
18th Century Novel	Victorian Novel
Elizabethan Drama	Literary Criticism

Semester 3	Semester 4
Critical Theory	20th Century Poetry
American Fiction	Post-Colonial Fiction
American Drama	Twentieth-Century Drama
American Poetry	Linguistics
20th Century Prose	Literature in English around the World Short Stories
Research Methodology	Essays

MA English Entrance Exam Syllabus 2025

In order to be admitted to the MA in English program, some colleges such as NMIMS Mumbai, Hindu College, and others, candidates must take institutional or national admission exams. The MA in English entrance exam such as IPU CET, CUET PG, and NPAT syllabus is listed in the following tips:

Entrance Exam Syllabus for MA in English -

IPU CET Syllabus:

Analytical and Logical Reasoning
Applied Mechanics
BSc Level Mathematics
Computer Awareness
Chemistry/ Physics Related Knowledge
English (Class 12 level)
Scientific Aptitude

CUET PG Syllabus:

Social Work
Urban and Rural Community Development
Psychology
Applied Psychology
Health Psychology
Plastic Arts
Philosophy
Painting
Fine Arts (Art History and Visual Studies, Sculpture, Printmaking, Painting, Mural, etc.)
Development and Labour Studies
Art and Aesthetics
Applied Arts

NPAT Syllabus:

Verbal- Logical Reasoning
Trigonometry
Spatial Reasoning
Sets and Functions
Numerical Reasoning
Number Systems
Elementary Statistics and Probability
Data Sufficiency
Data Interpretation
Critical Thinking
Arithmetic
Algebra

Students must take entrance exams in order to be admitted to prestigious universities. The syllabus for the MA English entrance exams is listed below:

17th-Century Poetry
Early Modern Poetry
19th-Century Poetry, Drama and Novel
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

MA in English Optional Subjects

One can select elective courses based on your interests outside of school and your professional career goals. A list of the elective courses available in MA English is given below:

Visual Arts and Literature in Europe or American Literature
Traditional English Drama
Spy Fiction
Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Drama
Research Methodology
Modern English Drama
Literature and Gender
Indian Prose Works
Foreign Languages
European Comedy
English Poetry
Campus Novel
Ancient Greek and Latin Literature

Syllabus for MA in English Distance Programs

Distance learning MA English programs offer a flexible option for individuals constrained by time or finances. These two-year programs enhance English language proficiency and encompass a range of subjects. Core areas of study typically include drama, Indian writing in English, translation studies, American literature, fiction, poetry, research methodology, and film studies. An overview of the MA English curriculum for distance learning programs is provided below:

MA in English Syllabus for 1st Year Distance Programs

The syllabus for the first year of your MA in English is listed in the table below:

MA English Distance Program Syllabus - Semester 1
Poetry I- From Chaucer to 17th Century	Indian Writing in English and in Translation
Fiction I-Origins and Developments up to 18th Century	Elective Paper-I Classics in Translation
Drama I-Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama	-
MA English Distance Program Syllabus - Semester 2
American Literature	Fiction II-Nineteenth to Twentieth Century
Drama II-Restoration to Twentieth Century	English for Careers
Poetry II-Eighteenth to Nineteenth Century	-

MA in English Syllabus for 2nd Year Distance Programs

A list of the courses you will be taking in the second year of a distance learning MA in English is provided below:

MA English Distance Program Syllabus- Semester 3
Approaches, Analysis, Literature, and Copy Editing	English Language and Linguistics
Film Studies	Literary Criticism and Literary Theory
Shakespeare Studies	-
MA English Distance Program Syllabus- Semester 4
Research Methodology and Project Writing	Writings by and on Women
English Literature for UGC NET/SET Examination	Introduction to Translation Studies
Twentieth Century Poetry	-