How Is Simba Similar To Hamlet

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

character changed from a close minded figure into a raging, fire seeking revenge. Hamlet has a soft spot for his mother and his former love, Ophelia. Nevertheless, “Hamlet’s obsessive pessimism” gets in the way by affecting “all of his relationships” (Smith 1) and loses Ophelia and his mother. Critics imply “Hamlet’s revenge is ineffectual” (Jamieson 1). Carelessness causes Hamlet to lose focus, and in the final battle between him and Claudius ultimately leads to the death of Claudius and Hamlet himself.
The story of Hamlet is still alive today due to its thought-provoking quotes .One allusion critics make about Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, is the famous quote “to be or not to be”. Cartoonists Bob and Tom Thaves comic strip in 2008 shows Hamlet’s struggle with online shopping by stating, “To EBay or not to EBay”. The allusion actually reflects twenty-first century problems because people who love to shop at a decent price go to EBay.
Movies including Disney’s The Lion King also allude to Hamlet and it “is an adaptation of Hamlet” (Krause 1).

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

1).
Shakespeare is known for his sensational plays. He is most importantly remembered for Hamlet, who is an intense and depressed man who had many opportunities to seek revenge, but he let his emotions get the best of him. The story of Hamlet is revamped in different movies such as The Lion King. Hamlets thought- provoking quotes as in “to be or not to be” are still repeated from comic strips to television shows. The story of Hamlet still lives on today because of its theatrical story line and its powerful quotes.