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Iris Fitzgerald
Prof. McShane
English 121
26 March 2019
Same Story, Different Century:
A Comparative Analysis of Archetypes in Hamlet and The Lion King
What do Hamlet and The Lion King have in common? Considering one is a
Shakespearean play and the other is an animated Walt Disney film, one may assume not much
at all at first glance. Upon analyzing each story and comparing their shared plot archetypes, a
lot of similarities jump out, however. Both stories include a jealous uncle who is willing to kill
for the throne, a ghostly return of a slain father, and a son’s revenge. However, for each of
these similarities, there are as many differences. Hamlet includes graphic depictions of death,
despair and love lost. The Lion King focuses on triumph, overcoming and love found. This paper
will analyze how the use of archetypes was able to take the story of Hamlet and transform it
into a story for a much different target audience. Following the same character archetype and
plot events while changing the focus from a man gone mad to a lion cub getting lost and finding
his way, writers were able to transform a classic play into a classic children’s film.
Both Hamlet and The Lion King share a similar plot. From afar, both stories depict the
tale of a son’s revenge on his jealous uncle who killed his father for his position of power. These
congruencies are not the only ones that exist between the two stories, however. Both the main
characters, Hamlet and Simba, exhibit the archetype referred to as the “exiled child.” This
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character archetype describes a child who is the rightful heir to something of value. In these
cases, that rightful inheritance refers to a throne. This is followed by the “old order” attempting
to get rid of the child. Hamlet is sent by Claudius to London to be killed. Simba is cast away by
Scar. Then the child comes to realize who he is and finds himself. Often times this means he
must take revenge in order to establish a new world order. Hamlet returns to Denmark to
avenge the death of his father, killing Claudius. Simba returns to the Pride Lands to defeat Scar.
Finally, the child accepts his role and a new order begins. Despite Hamlet’s death, he appoints a
new King of Denmark and briefly Hamlet restores peace before giving way to a new lineage of
royalty. Simba wins his throne and becomes the new king of the Pride Lands leading the land
back to prosperity.
