Literal Phase?

With the phases of symbols that Fry remarks on, he allows us to see the significance of each of the different types. I don't, however, understand how the phase of the literal is significant. It is itself an important phase in that it serves to categorize ways of immediate interpretation of the overall purpose of symbols to convey possible interpretation, and I understand that the literal phase serves as the denotative mirror of the descriptive phase's connotative nature. I don't, however understand the importance of understanding the literal phase in terms of literary criticism. What purpose does understanding the base, literal "letteral" value of a piece of literary work serve? I can't understand when a poet would desire his/her audience to take a poem at its literal value as forms and shapes. Other than taking poetry to some obscure level of post-modernist art form, I don't see a situation where interpreting the work through literal phase would accurately represent the poet's intentions.