It is possible to draw still one more distinction. Dramatic irony consists, not only in the contrast between the outer, apparent meaning and the real, inner meaning of an ambiguous phrase, but also in the contrast between the real and the supposed situation. Thus a man whose ruin is impending often mistakes the position of his affairs so utterly as to indulge in entirely unjustified expressions, feelings, gestures, or acts of rejoicing and triumph. The difference between these two varieties of dramatic irony may be seen in Sophocles’ _Maidens of Trachis_. In the first place we have the contradiction between the real meaning of the oracle that Heracles’ “release from toils will be accomplished” and Heracles’ own mistaken interpretation thereof (vss. 167 f. and 1170 ff.); and in the second place there is the “irony of situation” in that Deianira sends him a gift which she hopes will woo back his love but which actually results in his death. Euripides’ _Bacchanals_ offers other examples in the boastful and confident attitude of Pentheus, whom the spectators know to be doomed to a frightful end, and in the mock humility of Dionysus, whose intended vengeance they foresee. Again, in Sophocles’ _Oedipus the King_ (vss. 1014 ff.) there is a striking contrast between the intended and the actual effect when the Corinthian messenger informs Oedipus that Polybus was not his father. This irony of situation often consists in the clash or shock of conflicting intrigues, as may be seen in Shakespeare’s _Measure for Measure_.