Ms. Gilbert’s Sophomore English

HAMLET VS. THE LION KING

• Hamlet’s Ghost appears and tells Hamlet to avenge him• Claudius really killed Hamlet with poison.• Hamlet starts acting weird so Rosencrantz and

Guildenstern are asked by King and Queen to figure out what’s going on with him.

• Ophelia and Hamlet having an emotional fling, but Ophelia is told to stay away from Hamlet because he is a young boy who doesn’t want her for the right reasons.

• Play within the Play to call out Claudius on his evil doings.

• Claudius shows his true colors by getting offended by the play…Hamlet decides to “take action”.

RECAP THE MAJOR EVENTS IN HAMLET THUS FAR…

• Simba is born, and King Mufasa says, that when Mufasa dies, Simba will become King of the Pride Lands.

• Simba's Uncle Scar would have been king after Musafa had Mufasa not had a child. Fuelled by rage, Scar plots to kill Mufasa and Simba so he is able to take over the throne. 

• He uses the 3 hyenas to cause a stampede through the canyon where Mufasa and Simba are, and personally ensures Mufasa falls to his death.

•  Simba survives so Scar implies that the stampede was Simba's fault and that the pride will blame him. Simba flees the Pride Lands meaning never to return home.

• Simba is found by Timon and Pummba and the trio become fast friends. • Simba stays with them well into adulthood until his childhood friend, Nala,

hunting beyond the Pride Lands stumbles upon Simba's new home.•  Nala begs Simba to return to the Pride Lands, where Scar has reigned as

King for years, and ruined everything. All of the animals will starve if Simba does not return.

• Simba is visited by the ghost of his father Mufasa and is told to “remember who he is”, seeing that there is a lot of Mufasa within Simba. Simba eventually agrees to fight for his kingdom. Simba battles Scar, and learns his father's death was Scar's fault, not his own. Simba prevails

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE LION KING’S PLOT?

Hamlet written in 1601, serves as an archetype to Lion King which came out in 1994. We’re going to look at the archetypal

similarities between the two.

An Archetype is: A universal pattern in all stories and mythologies regardless of culture or historical period. Part of

the human mind contains a collective unconscious shared by all people, a sort of universal, primal memory.

Image

Theme

Idea

Symbol

Character type

Plot Pattern

WHAT IS AN ARCHETYPE?

Hamlet: King Hamlet:

Ophelia: Gertrude: Claudius:

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern:Polonius:Horatio:

CHARACTER MATCH UP

Hamlet in The Lion King

CLIP OF LION KING

Hamlet: SimbaKing Hamlet: Mufasa

Ophelia: NalaGertrude: SarabiClaudius: Scar

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern: Timon and PumbaPolonius: HyenasHoratio: Rafiki

CHARACTER MATCH UP

In your group list and describe all of the similarities you can find between Hamlet and The Lion King pertaining to either Characters/Conflicts/Themes. Choose one group

member to act as a scribe and one to act as a spokes- person.

*Mainly focus on events/character development in Act 3, but may also list ideas from other Acts.

FINDING SIMILARITIES

What defines a hero? What roles do a hero possess?

Discuss in groups:

From what we’ve found in similarities between Hamlet and The Lion King, can you argue whether

or not Hamlet/Simba’s character is a hero?

WHAT IS A HERO?

• Are hamlets actions brave or hero like?

• Is it more heroic to simply act right away or is it more heroic to be smart and clever about your

actions to make sure what you’re doing is right?

• Do you think living a “Hakuna Matata” lifestyle would be the better way of life for Hamlet, or should

he have focused on gaining back his role as the “leader of his pride” and avenging his father?

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT

On a separate piece of paper continue working on defending whether or not Hamlet is a hero. Write a 2 page paper, Times New Roman, double spaced, 12 font with at least 3 quotes from Hamlet that support your argument. You can use some of the similarities found from the Lion

King to better help support your claim, but all quotes must be from Hamlet.

HOMEWORK