The Ocean appears in The Great Ocean

Neruda first saw the ocean when he left for college in Santiago at the age of 16. He was in utter awe of it then and this reverence lasted all through his life. When he died, the house that he lived in was on an island called Isla Negra. It could be argued that Neruda had a special bond and even an alliance with the ocean. He wrote poetry to the ocean and extracted from it inspiration all through his life. A good example of this can be found in the poem entitled "The Great Ocean" (pg. 225.) Neruda writes, " The cup trembles with your salt and honey, the universal womb of waters, and nothing is wanting in you."