How Is Simba Similar To Hamlet

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The “longest play with 4,042 lines” and “the second most filmed story in the world” (Krause 1) is no other than Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Written after the 1600s, Hamlet is Shakespeare’s best known play which examines betrayal, revenge, and failure. Hamlet is an emotional man who struggles with life problems involving his family, friends, and his conscience. The story of Hamlet is still alive today because of its complex characters as well as its dramatic “To be or not to be” soliloquy. Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most “dramatic character to ever be created” (Mabillard 1) and his character is still existing in the 21st century. Hamlet is “driven by emotion and impulsive” (Smith 1). After witnessing King Hamlet’s ghost and discovering the truth, Hamlet’s …show more content…

The background of both is that “both of the families are royal” (Hub Pages 1) and the characters’ relationships are similar as well. Simba and Hamlet are similar because they are both main characters. Simba’s personality after his father’s death is the same as Hamlet’s which includes being depressed and lonely. Scar and Claudius are the same because they are both jealous of their brothers for having the title of king, which leads to both of them killing their brothers. As both stories move forward, Mufasa and King Hamlet both reappear to their sons as ghosts stating that Hamlet and Simba need to take their place to the royal crown. At the end of the story, both Simba and Hamlet fight their uncles in a bloody battle. In the end, “The hyenas ultimately kill Scar,” but Hamlet strikes Claudius “with a sword and wine with poison in it” (Hub Pages 1). Unfortunately, Hamlet dies after the dual, but Simba returns to his home where he is pronounced as king of the lions. The moral struggle for Simba is that he “has to learn to step up and take his place as king instead of running from his past” (Hub Pages 1). The moral struggle for Hamlet is that he “has to make the decision to kill his uncle, and also not to kill himself (a struggle that takes place in his famous ‘to be or not to be’ soliloquy)” (Hub Pages

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