New Criticism

George Who played with a Dangerous Toy by Hillaire Belloc

Who played with a Dangerous Toy, and suffered a Catastrophe of considerable Dimensions

When George's Grandmamma was told
That George had been as good as gold,
She promised in the afternoon
To buy him an Immense BALLOON.
And so she did; but when it came,
It got into the candle flame,
And being of a dangerous sort
Exploded with a loud report!
The lights went out! The windows broke!
The room was filled with reeking smoke.
And in the darkness shrieks and yells
Were mingled with electric bells,
And falling masonry and groans,
And crunching, as of broken bones,
And dreadful shrieks, when, worst of all,
The house itself began to fall!
It tottered, shuddering to and fro,
Then crashed into the street below-
Which happened to be Savile Row.

When help arrived, among the dead
Were Cousin Mary, Little Fred,
The Footmen (both of them), the Groom,
The man that cleaned the Billiard-Room,
The Chaplain, and the Still-Room Maid.
And I am dreadfully afraid
That Monsieur Champignon, the Chef,
Will now be permanently deaf-
And both his aides are much the same;
While George, who was in part to blame,
Received, you will regret to hear,
A nasty lump behind the ear. 

Analysis

In New Criticism meaning resides in the text - not in reader, author or word. Literary pieces under new criticism may have multiple meanings/messages but has a unifying central theme. So it means that no matter how many perspective you get the main theme would still be the literal meaning that is being shown in the literary piece. Since this poem falls under new criticism, the meaning is simply, little boys should not be given dangerous toys. A reader may have a different understanding or a deeper comprehension but the main meaning is as is, that little boys should not play and be given a dangerous toy.