Is Bess a complex character in the poem, “The Highwayman”? Yes Bess is a complex character for many reasons. She has many significant actions in the poem, has a personal appearance, and has many interactions with other characters throughout the poem. In Alfred Noyes’s poem, “The Highwayman,” Bess has many significant actions in the poem. When the Redcoats tied her up, she got her hands free from the handcuffs. “She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!” (Noyes). For example, this evidence is saying that she probably had to put herself through some pain in order to get her hands free from the handcuffs. Reading that her hands were sweating or bleeding, it lets the reader know that she is going through some pain