“So He Set a Royal Diadem on Her Head”—Queen Esther in Contemporary American Jewish Midrashic Poetry

Feminist poets and scholars have transformed Queen Esther from a relatively silent biblical figure into a complex literary character, yet systematic analysis of their interpretive strategies remains limited. This study examines how these poets employ feminist hermeneutical frameworks to reimagine Esther’s experiences and choices. Using a close-reading methodology, the analysis applies Alicia Ostriker’s hermeneutical modes (suspicion, desire, and indeterminacy) and Wendy Zierler’s hermeneutics of identification to poems by Janet Ruth Heller, Carol Barrett, Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, Stacey Zisook Robinson, Jill Hammer, Enid Dame, Yala Korwin, and Bonnie Lyons from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The poems organize into three thematic categories: transformation and identity formation during Esther’s preparation for queenship; the interior and moral costs of her heroic actions; and retrospective reflections comparing her strategic compliance with Vashti’s direct defiance. The analysis reveals that these poets challenge traditional binary oppositions between the two queens, positioning both strategic accommodation and direct refusal as legitimate forms of feminist resistance within patriarchal structures. By giving Esther a first-person voice and exploring her interior life, these works create a new literary midrash that addresses contemporary concerns about women’s agency while maintaining deep engagement with Jewish textual tradition.