Having A Coke With You Commentary

“Having a Coke with You” is a poem written by Frank O Hara. O Hara grew up in Massachusetts in the United States. O Hara began his career in poetry while majoring in music at Harvard. Ultimately, O Hara changed his major and left Harvard with a degree in English. In the fall of 1951, O Hara moved to Manhattan where he worked at the Museum of Modern Art. This experience would contribute to O Hara’s use of paintings throughout all of his poems. This experience is also visible in O Hara’s references to paintings like the “Polish Rider” and the “Nude Descending a Staircase” (Knopf). The theme of the poem, “Having a Coke with You”, is the beauty of love. O’ Hara’s main point is that sharing the simplest thing with a person you love is better than the most incredible art in the world or the most beautiful place in the world. The poetic devices that help to contribute to this theme are diction, visual imagery, and the use of allusions.

The most important device that contributes to the poem’s theme is diction or the choice of words by the poet. An example of diction that helps make the poem memorable is O Hara’s use of place names such as “San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne”. The places that O Hara mentions in the opening line of this poem are towns in Spain and France which were known for hosting rich travelers. These famous names establish the point that O Hara would prefer to drink a coke with the one he loves, rather than be by himself in the most beautiful towns. His point is that beauty does not lie in exotic experiences such as being sick in Barcelona but in walking through a park in New York with his love.

The effect of diction on the reader is that it emphasizes the contrast between simple everyday things like having a coke and unusual things like the names of faraway places. This underscores the point that the simplest thing in a person you love is better than travelling across the world to be in the most scenic cities, that the real scenery and beauty is in the person you love.

The second most important device that backs the poem’s theme is visual imagery. O Hara provides the reader with many examples of visual imagery in the poem to help prove the theme that the connection between two people in love is unique. An example of visual imagery that O Hara use is, “In the warm New York 4’ o clock light we are drifting back and forth / between each other like a tree breathing through its spectacles” (8-9). This line of visual imagery helps support the theme of the poem because when O Hara paints an image of a tree, he is effortlessly breathing through its spectacles. These are being compared to two people who love each other so much that their love is effortless towards one another. Consequently, the theme that the connection between two people in love is unique is proven.

The third most important device that contributes to the poem’s theme is the use of allusions. O Hara gives references to many great works of art in the poem like The Polish Rider and Nude Descending a Staircase. O Hara’s point is that while these may be great works of art, they are not that important when compared to love. An example in the poem that helps prove this is, “when they never got the right person to stand near the tree where the sun sank / or for that matter Marino Marini when he didn’t pick the rider as carefully / as the horse” (25-26). This allusion implies that as amazing as something may be, it is useless without having the right person. As a result, the theme that the connection between two people is more sublime than the most amazing art in the world is emphasized.

“Having A Coke With You” is a poem about how the simplest thing in a person you love is more amazing than the most incredible art in the world meaning that the connection between two people in love is more sublime than the finest work of art. This poem reinforces the idea that people do not need to go to the most luxurious places in the world to celebrate their love with someone. Similarly, people do not have to go on the most expensive date in the world to prove to the person how much they love them because the little things in life can add up to something bigger and more important.

Works Cited
"Frank O 'Hara." - Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
"Mapping the Marvellous." Mapping the Marvellous. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

Cited: "Frank O 'Hara." - Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. "Mapping the Marvellous." Mapping the Marvellous. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.