Comparison of Hamlet, the Lion King, & Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Similarities:

1. In both Hamlet and The Lion King, the uncle kills the king.
2. Both Hamlet and Simba are the rightful heirs.
3. Both Hamlet and Simba have a love interest.
4. Both Hamlet and Simba are royalty.
5. In both Hamlet and The Lion King, the dead fathers make appearances. Simba’s father appears from heaven and looks down on him while Hamlet’s father appears as a ghost.
6. The kings in both Hamlet and The Lion King were virtuous.
7. The uncles in both Hamlet and The Lion King are not virtuous.
8. Both Hamlet and Simba are misunderstood.
9. Both Hamlet and Simba try to put off what they were supposed to do. Hamlet is supposed to get revenge for his father’s death, and Simba is supposed to reclaim the throne.
10. Neither Hamlet nor Simba really want to kill his uncle.
11. In both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern betray Hamlet.
12. In both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet’s childhood friends, can understand Hamlet better than anyone could.
13. In both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern discuss how they might probe Hamlet for discovering the cause of his supposed madness.
14. In both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern go along with Hamlet’s plan of having everyone attend the play.
15. In both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are unsure of what to do when discovering that the letter Claudius gave them orders that Hamlet be executed.
16. In both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern provide comic relief.
17. In both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead, the personalities and characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are the same.
18. In both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern die at the end of the play.
19. In both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are summoned by Claudius to figure out why Hamlet has gone mad.
20. In both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not serious characters but rather jokesters.

Differences:

1. Simba runs away from his homeland while Hamlet remains in his homeland.
2. Hamlet kills his uncle Claudius while Simba does not kill his uncle Scar.
3. Simba is just a cub when his father is killed while Hamlet is a grown man.
4. Hamlet goes crazy/mad while Simba does not.
5. Hamlet dies at the end of the play while Simba does not.
6. Simba is a lion while Hamlet is a person.
7. Gertrude marries the uncle while Simba’s mom does not marry the uncle.
8. In The Lion King, Timon and Pumba are loyal unlike Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from Hamlet.
9. Rosencrantz and Guilderstern die at the end of the play while Timon and Pumba do not.
10. In The Lion King, Timon and Pumba are helpful to Simba unlike Rosencrantz and Guilderstern in Hamlet who are not helpful to Hamlet.
11. Simba knows that the throne is rightly his but does not seek revenge on his uncle unlike Hamlet who seeks revenge on his uncle in order to avenge his father’s death.
12. Hamlet is a dramatic play while Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is a comedy.
13. Hamlet is a play while Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is a play within a play.
14. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead assumes that the viewer already knows the storyline of Hamlet.
15. In Hamlet, death is considered a serious matter while death is considered humorous in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
16. In Hamlet, Hamlet is the main character while Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are the main characters in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
17. In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, the plot of Hamlet is seen through the eyes of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
18. In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are discovered more in depth.
19. In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are more easily distinguished from each other compared to the lack of distinction between the two in Hamlet.
20. In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not very serious in trying to console Hamlet. Guildenstern even pretends to be Hamlet while Rosencrantz questions him.