I was going to say that this is my first musical Cinematic Chiasmus article, but then I remembered that I actually wrote about Beauty and the Beast (1991) several years ago. Oh well. In any case, Mary Poppins is the first practically perfect chiasmus I’ve written about. Its first half mirrors its second half exactly, forging a remarkably symmetrical structure.

I love this movie, and I’m superca-, supercali-, well, just super excited to share it with you!

The Chiasmus

I hope you enjoy this charming little chiasmus. Let’s go through it point by point.

A. We get our first view of Mary Poppins sitting in the clouds
 B. Bert performs a one-man band, singing about how this has all happened before
  C. Bert leaves the park to guide us to the Banks’ house
   D. Jane and Michael Banks have run away from home while chasing their kite
    E. Mrs. Banks begs Katie Nanna to stay
     F. Mr. Banks arrives home, he calls the police to find his children, and Constable Jones shows up with them
      G. Mr. Banks and his children have opposite criteria for choosing a new nanny
       H. The wind changes direction from west to east
        I. Mary Poppins goes to Mr. Banks’ home and gets hired
         J. Mary Poppins cleans the nursery with magic, and she sings “A Spoonful of Sugar”
          K. Mary Poppins, Bert, and the children begin an adventure by jumping into Bert’s street drawing
           L. Lots of animals sing “Jolly Holiday,” and some penguins perform a big dance with Bert
            M. Mary Poppins, Bert, and the children perform an impossible feat by riding carousel horses on a fox hunt and in a horse race, leaving many riders in amazement by such a strange sight
             N. Mary Poppins and Bert sing “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” before returning with the children to the real world
              O. Mary Poppins serves different colors of medicine from the same bottle, then she criticizes the children for mentioning her magic and uses reverse psychology to put them to sleep
               P. At the Banks’ home, the environment turns from chaos to tranquility, thanks to Mary Poppins
                Q. Uncle Albert and Bert sing “I Love to Laugh” as they rise into the air
                 R. Mary Poppins tricks Mr. Banks into taking his children to the bank against his wishes
                  S. Mary Poppins sings “Feed the Birds” to the children as they go to bed
                  S. The next morning, the children see the bird woman Mary Poppins sang about as they go to the bank
                 R. Mr. Banks demands that Michael take his tuppence to the bank against his wishes
                Q. Mr. Dawes and Mr. Banks sing “Fidelity Fiduciary Bank,” and Mr. Dawes nearly falls down
               P. At the bank, the environment turns from tranquility to chaos because of Michael
              O. Bert looks different because he’s covered in soot, and he comforts the children by praising their father, then he uses empathy to put them in Mr. Banks’ shoes and help them calm down
             N. Bert sings “Chim Chim Cher-ee” as he walks the children home
            M. Mary Poppins, Bert, and the children perform an impossible feat by flying up a chimney and walking on stairs of soot, facing the amazing sight of London that few people get to see
           L. Lots of chimney sweeps sing “Step in Time” and perform incredible dance moves with Bert
          K. Mary Poppins, Bert, and the children end an adventure by jumping down the Banks’ chimney
         J. Bert finishes cleaning the chimney, and Mr. Banks sings about taking a bitter pill before Bert reprises “A Spoonful of Sugar”
        I. Mr. Banks goes to the bank and gets fired
       H. The wind changes direction from east to west
      G. Mary Poppins and the children have opposite plans as she prepares to leave
     F. Mr. Banks is missing, and Constable Jones is on the phone with his chief asking for help finding him
    E. The children beg Mary Poppins not to go
   D. Mr. Banks was in the basement of his home mending his children’s kite
  C. Mr. Banks and his children leave home to fly a kite in the same park as Bert
 B. Bert waves goodbye to Mary Poppins, asking her not to stay away too long
A. We get our last view of Mary Poppins flying back into the clouds

My Insights Into This Chiasmus

Like Mary Poppins herself, we will just pop in and out, then go on our merry way after a few words of commentary on this chiasmus.

I like that we begin (A) in the clouds over London where we find Mary Poppins, and at the end of the film we return with her to the clouds, a little happier and wiser, though tinged with sadness that things couldn’t continue as they were forever. Kind of like life, isn’t it? Mary Poppins’ hiring corresponds to Mr. Banks’ firing (I). The wind changes direction at the exact same moment on both sides of the chiasmus (H).

The damaged kite seems to represent the state of Mr. Banks’ fractured relationship with his children at the start of the film, especially since it matches up with the time when he mends both the kite and how he feels about Jane and Michael at the end of the film (D).

What do you think of the turning point (S)? It’s interesting that Mary Poppins takes the time to sing about someone as seemingly unimportant and unnoticed by everyone as a poor bird woman. She loves feeding the birds, taking care of creatures smaller than her that just want a crumb or two from her. They gather around her in hopes that someone will buy her wares at a minimal cost to share with them.

Perhaps Mary Poppins feels a kinship with the old woman as if they are both engaged in a similar mission to help those who are smaller than them. Perhaps she’s someone Mary Poppins helped long ago and wants to help once more. And perhaps she’s more important than she seems.

After all, that old woman reminds me of Someone else of whom it is written, “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:2-3) It’s significant that when Mr. Banks looks for the bird woman in front of a cathedral in the dead of night on his way to the bank, he can no longer find her. And then he looks to the heavens.

Isn’t it appropriate that the turning point of Mary Poppins would involve a Christ-type? That’s basically the point of Mary Poppins’ character. She’s practically perfect in every way, selflessly gives her time to mend the world one family at a time, doesn’t demand any recognition for her work, and quietly departs for the heavens to come again one day. She even pays attention to the weak and downtrodden, encouraging Michael to contribute his widow’s two mites or tuppence (twopence) to a worthy cause.

Just something to think about. Mary Poppins is 60 years old, and now you know that it’s a chiasmus. There’s no end to this film’s magic.

This is the Deja Reviewer hoping you don’t stay away too long.

All images are the copyright of their owner.

Want to Support the Deja Reviewer?

If you’d like to support the Deja Reviewer, please consider donating a few dollars to keep this site going strong. I’ll even send you an original joke if you do! Try it, and prepare to enjoy a good chuckle.

$5.00