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Mufasa And Hamlet Comparison Essay

Decent Essays

Though not exactly the same, the two stories’ plot lines have some parallels. The main similarity is the murder of the former king. Greed and jealousy wash over the brothers of the kings which leads them to remove their brothers from the throne through death. In Hamlet, it is said that Claudius killed elder Hamlet by poisoning him. This is revealed later in the story. In the movie The Lion King, it shows the step by step plan of how Scar kills Mufasa. Scar convinces Simba that Mufasa has a surprise for the young cub, so he convinces him to wait in a gorge while Scar went to retrieve Mufasa. Little did Simba know that a stampede of wildebeest influenced by Scar’s hyenas would come down the hill intended to kill young Simba. Scar reaches Mufasa …show more content…

These brothers produced a vacant spot in the throne which they claimed themselves. Not only do the characters align but also various events throughout both stories show similarities. It all starts with the murder of the king. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it simply goes straight into life without the king. The guards on the outer walls of the city discuss this unfortunate event of the king being bitten by a snake, and now his brother rules (Act I, Scene I). On the other hand, Disney’s The Lion King begins the movie with the birth of the prince of the Pride Lands, Simba. For the first thirty minutes or so of the movie, it shows Simba’s early childhood which includes his father Mufasa. Simba is an adventurous cub who tends to find himself getting in trouble, and instead of punishing his son, Mufasa uses the event to teach Simba a lesson about the circle of life (Allers). Though viewers see the father to son companionship in The Lion King unlike Hamlet, it is short lived. Neither son received the leadership and guidance of what it means to be king because of their father’s unexpected yet planned death

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