More haste, less speed illustrates the use of

Step 1: Analyze the question The proverb "More haste, less speed" is being tested for the figure of speech it illustrates.

Step 2: Review the options

• Anaphora: repeating a word or phrase at the start of successive clauses (e.g., "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds...").
• Paradox: a statement that seems self-contradictory or absurd but contains a deeper truth.
• Litotes: understatement that affirms something by negating its opposite (e.g., "He is not a bad player" meaning he is good).
• Synecdoche: a part represents the whole, or the whole represents a part (e.g., "all hands on deck").

Step 3: Apply to the proverb "More haste, less speed" seems to contradict itself, because we normally expect more haste to give more speed. The deeper truth is that when you rush, you make mistakes and end up taking longer, so you finish slower than if you had been careful. A statement that appears contradictory but holds a real truth is a paradox.

It is not anaphora, because there is no repeated opening phrase. It is not litotes, because there is no understatement using a negative. It is not synecdoche, because no part stands for a whole.

Step 4: Answer paradox**.

Exam tip: When a statement looks self-contradictory on the surface but makes sense on reflection, think paradox. Other common examples include "The more you learn, the less you know" and "Less is more." If it is a short contradictory phrase of just two words, such as "bittersweet" or "deafening silence," it is an oxymoron instead.