Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Victor Marie Hugo's poem "Completion" offers a rich tableau that succinctly captures the tension between grandiosity and simplicity, between the overwhelming force of nature and the humble utility of a simple element. The poem presents a dialogue between the sea, represented as all-encompassing and powerful, and a small brooklet, seen as negligible and weak. This conversation, however, subtly dismantles the arrogance of grandeur while elevating the dignity of smallness, ultimately revealing how each complements the other in the larger scheme of things.

The sea is depicted as awe-inspiring and imposing, a force of nature that "roared" and "mocked" the little brooklet. It is a being of "tempest and fear," whose borders are synonymous with the beginning of the heavens. Hugo effectively magnifies the sea's self-perception, painting it as a being almost divine in its majesty. Its derision toward the brooklet's supposed insignificance is a manifest expression of its egotism.

In stark contrast, the brooklet is characterized as humble and simple, "bubbling" from a "crannied rock" to meet the mighty sea. Its modesty is implicit in its quiet action, falling without pomp or circumstance. Yet, when questioned by the sea, the brooklet responds with profound simplicity: it provides "a drop of water good to drink." This retort is revelatory in many ways, not least in how it subtly undermines the sea's grandiose self-image. The brooklet doesn't try to inflate its importance; instead, it underscores a basic utility that the sea, for all its greatness, cannot provide-a drinkable drop of water.

Hugo utilizes the sea and the brooklet as allegorical elements to address wider themes. The sea can be seen as representing the loftiness of intellectual or spiritual pursuits, societal hierarchies, or even the enormity of human ambition. On the other hand, the brooklet symbolizes the small but essential things in life-the basic needs and simple pleasures often overlooked in the pursuit of grand ideals. The lesson here is in the symbiosis: both grandeur and simplicity have their roles to play. Both are necessary for the completeness of the world, and one is not inherently better than the other.

The poem's title, "Completion," encapsulates this harmonious relationship. It suggests that the coexistence of grandiosity and humility, of the overwhelming and the overlooked, leads to a more complete, balanced world. The grand may touch the heavens, but the simple makes life on earth bearable and meaningful.

In "Completion," Hugo has created a timeless, compelling narrative that raises questions about the values we attach to different aspects of life. It prompts us to reconsider the things we consider significant or trivial and reminds us that even a drop can complete an ocean

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