Similarities Between The Lion King And Hamlet

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The Lion King and Hamlet
Shakespeare's stories are normally very hard for people, especially students, to understand. Once thought about, Hamlet and The Lion King are very similar with events happening in the story. Although they are both on opposite ends of the spectrum as difficulty to understand goes, they are both based on the same things. The Lion King is a simple Disney movie and Hamlet is a Renaissance play; both works are about royalty, betrayal, death, and love. The Lion King helps put the story Hamlet in an easier prospective, and helps you understand what is going on.

There are many similarities in these two stories. Simba and Hamlet were both born into royalty. Their fathers are murdered by their uncles because of greed and jealousy. An example to prove this is when The Ghost of Old Hamlet quotes “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life, now wears his crown.”(slideshare.net). The ghost of their
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Simba and Hamlet both play the same roles in the stories as the prince in the middle of everything. Mufasa and Old Hamlet are the fathers and kings that are killed. Scar and Claudius are the evil and betraying uncles. Nala and Ophelia are fell in love with. Laertes and the Hyenas are the Uncle’s puppets in a sense. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern and Timon & Pumbaa provide help to the main characters and are their best friends.

When first read, Hamlet is very confusing due to all of the soliloquies and that it is written in Old English. The Lion King is very simple to understand because it is meant for kids and made by Disney. At first thought, it seems very unlikely that the two are closely related and even more so that The Lion King is even based on Hamlet. Once the story is analyzed and the similarities come to surface, it is easily noticeable. The use of The Lion King to help simplify Hamlet is very effective and makes it easier to understand for the basic