The syllabus for English Literature as an optional subject for the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) is as follows:

Paper-I:
1. Candidates will be required to answer questions on three out of five essay-type questions.
2. Candidates will have to write critical essays on the prescribed texts.
3. The questions will be designed to test the candidate's understanding of the texts, their ability to analyze and interpret them, and their critical appreciation of the literary qualities.

Paper-II:
1. Candidates will be required to answer questions on three out of five essay-type questions.
2. Candidates will have to write critical essays on the prescribed texts.
3. The questions will be designed to test the candidate's understanding of the texts, their ability to analyze and interpret them, and their critical appreciation of the literary qualities.

Prescribed Texts:
1. William Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream
2. John Milton: Paradise Lost
3. John Webster: The Duchess of Malfi
4. William Wordsworth: Selected Poems
5. Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
6. Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice
7. George Eliot: Middlemarch
8. Thomas Hardy: Tess of the d'Urbervilles
9. Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness
10. T.S. Eliot: The Waste Land

Note: The syllabus may vary slightly from year to year, so it is advisable to refer to the official UPSC website for the most updated information.