Name ______________________________________________ Period _______________
Hamlet and The Lion King
Directions: In the chart below, name the character form The Lion King that is similar to the character from
Hamlet. Explain what makes the characters similar.
Hamlet
King Hamlet
Hamlet
Claudius
Gertrude
Ophelia
Rosencrantz &
Guildenstern
Polonius
The Lion King
Explanation
Comparing and Contrasting
Directions: Complete the Venn Diagrams that follow to help you answer the following questions.
1. Both Hamlet and Simba are visited by an apparition of their father. List at least two similarities between
the film and the text.
2. What is Mufasa’s definition of the Circle of Life?
3. How does Mufasa’s definition compare to a scene in Hamlet?
The King Dies
The Lion King
Hamlet
Hamlet/Simba’s Father Returns as a Ghost
The Lion King
Hamlet
The Final Duel
The Lion King
Hamlet
Name _________________________________________ Date ___________ Period ______________
Hamlet vs. Lion King – The Circle of Life
We already know that The Lion King is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but let’s prove it. Hamlet
basically recites Mufasa’s “Circle of Life” speech in Act 4.
From Hamlet Act 4 Scene 3
KING CLAUDIUS
Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius?
HAMLET
At supper.
KING CLAUDIUS
At supper! where?
HAMLET
Not where he eats, but where he is eaten: a certain
convocation of politic worms are e'en at him. Your
worm is your only emperor for diet: we fat all
creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for
maggots: your fat king and your lean beggar is but
variable service, two dishes, but to one table:
that's the end.
KING CLAUDIUS
Alas, alas!
HAMLET
A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a
king, and cat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.
KING CLAUDIUS
What dost you mean by this?
HAMLET
Nothing but to show you how a king may go a
progress through the guts of a beggar.
From The Lion King
MUFASA
“…When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in
the great Circle of Life.”
Name _________________________________________ Date ___________ Period ______________
Hamlet vs. Lion King – The Circle of Life (continued)
Answer the following questions:
1. What theme in Hamlet does this quote fit into?
2. How do Hamlet’s words emphasize this theme? What words in particular point to the theme? (Use
specific words from the quote)
3. Where else is this theme seen in the play?
4. Why is this theme important to understanding the play? Explain.
5. How do we get a deeper understanding of the play by understanding this theme?