[Formendacil]

I love this chapter! After most of Book IV, it is a chapter of ACTION! Yes, there is lots of movement in the previous chapters, certainly there is drama and danger, but this is the first chapter that had what one can see turned into an action sequence in a movie. This chapter is very immediate and real, I find, as a result. You are a lot closer as Sam and Frodo battle Gollum and Shelob than as they wander through Ithilien.

We get to see Sam at his most heroic in this chapter, fighting Gollum and then rushing- right at the end of the chapter, to aid his master who he has been separated from. We thus end the chapter on a suspenseful, adrenaline-filled note.

I also like the chapter for its greater Elvish overtones. One of the things I love about The Lord of the Rings is the Elvish language. I'm too lazy and non-inclined to learn it, but I love reading it. For the first and only time in Book IV, we get a touch of Elvish: Aiya Earendil Elenion Ancalima! I love that line! We also get a much greater touch the mysterious/magical in this chapter, mainly through the vial, but also through the mythic-like Shelob, who feels like a direct transplant from the Lay of Leithian.

The first time I read this chapter, I couldn't wait to move on and see Sam rescue Frodo. Boy was I in for a surprise!