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This chapter is packed full of excitement! The title could refer to two different knives, both wielded by the Nazgul; one at the beginning at Crickhollow ("a drawn blade gleamed"), the other, with more far-reaching results, stabbing Frodo at Weathertop at the end of the chapter.
It is certainly suspenseful, especially at first reading, that Tolkien manages to tell of the attack on Crickhollow and leave the readers uncertain whether Fatty was able to escape.
This is the last time Fatty Bolger is mentioned until the end of the story, in the Scouring, where he is shown to have played a very courageous role as a rebel. Here he flees from danger, but that is a good thing, as he arouses Buckland by doing so. At least he becomes active, by way of contrast to his former complacency.
The two locations are connected by Frodo's dream and by the cock crowing at both locations. That gives us a hint that both attacks are coordinated, though we do not read about that side of the story here. "The Hunt for the Ring" in Unfinished Tales gives us background information concerning the Nazgul activities.
Two of the poems in this chapter are recited by Tolkien in the JRRT Audio Collection recording - that of Gil-Galad and the tale of Tinúviel. I have the CDs and will make an effort to listen to them soon to see what the sound of his voice adds to the words.
The tales in this chapter add a lot of depth to the LotR story, and certainly whetted the appetite of many readers for the Silmarillion!
What parts of this long and eventful chapter appeal to you especially?
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth.. .'
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