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It's Mary Poppins. And Mary Poppins. And Mary Poppins. Times about thirty.
This old story just doesn't excite anymore. There has to be something better.
Now there is! Mary Poppins duels Lord Voldemort at the London Olympic Games! And J.K. Rowling reads Peter Pan! Wow! Those are real literary allusions! And it turns out the opening ceremonies were full of allusions to history, literature, radio, television, film, and music.
In fact, if you click here RIGHT NOW, we'll send you to a really cool site that explains them all. What a deal! And you can add your own fantasy allusions at no extra cost.
But wait! There's more!
During this special offer, you'll also get another literary allusion, this time to The Tempest, by Shakespeare. The humongous 27-ton bell rung at the beginning of the opening ceremony, forged by the same company that molded (badly) America's Liberty Bell in 1752 and (well) London's Big Ben bell in 1856, is inscribed with a line by angst-ridden creepy-critter Caliban: "Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises." In fact, the official theme of the ceremonies is "Isles of Wonder."
CALIBAN
Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked,
I cried to dream again.
The Tempest 3.2.148-156
Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked,
I cried to dream again.
The Tempest 3.2.148-156
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