SNUG: Have you the lion’s part written? Pray you, if it be, give it me, for I am slow of study.
QUINCE: You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but roaring.
– William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, Scene 2. Snug begs play director Quince to give him the part of Lion. He ironically tells him about his unsuitability for acting, by admitting that he is a slow learner. Quince replies that Snug can improvise it.