Layers of meaning

By acclimation, the layers of meaning notes:

1. Literal
•   What happened, what is the story?
• e.g. Red Riding Hood encounters a wolf which wants to eat her.
2. Allegorical
• The extended metaphor or a symbol or representation
• e.g. The wolf represents a sexual predator/unbridled male libido after Red Riding Hood
3. Tropological
• The moral of the story
• Often connected to a repeated theme among other stories--A trope
• e.g. The predatory wolf often shows up in fairy tales juxtaposed with the protector figure, such as the woodsman (i.e. ideal man)
4. Anagogical
• A mystical or spiritual understanding 
• The human relationship with the divine