We might assume that both the evening star and the moon in Poe's 1827 romantic and somewhat Gothic poem "Evening Star" are actually symbols of the women in his life. Poe describes the moon and the evening star as it they were people and calls them both "her."

The moon is the cold and assertive woman who has the power to control him. He personifies the moon by giving it a human "smile" and explains that she is the master of the other planets or the men in her life, including Poe himself.

Of the brighter, cold moon,

Mid planets her slaves,

Herself in the Heavens,

Her beam on the waves.

I gazed awhile

On her cold smile;

In contrast, the evening star is the gentle and beautiful woman whom he loves and admires. He describes "her" as proud and glorious, and his mood instantly becomes better and more joyful once he begins to talk about "her." Obviously, he prefers 'the evening star' to 'the moon.'

And I turned away to thee,

Proud Evening Star,

In thy glory afar,

And dearer thy beam shall be;

For joy to my heart

Is the proud part

Thou bearest in Heaven at night,

And more I admire

Thy distant fire,

Than that colder, lowly light . . .