In Macbeth how does Shakespeare challenge the traditional relationship between gender and power?I have to write a 1000 word essay on this for...

I like your initial ideas. However, I would argue that in
a sense, you could probably stretch your point on Lady Macbeth to two points, just
focusing on the way that she responds to news of the prophecy of the witches and how she
acts to secure her husband's ascension to the throne. Clearly, there is plenty of
material you can use in Act I and Act II to talk about this. In particular, you will
want to focus on the way that Lady Macbeth gives orders and advice to her husband,
rather than the other way round. One order she gives in Act I scene 5 is incredibly
relevant to the rest of the play:

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To beguile the
time,

Look like the time; bear welcome in your
eye,

Your hand, your tonge: look like th'innocent
flower,

But be the serpent
under't.

Deception is
something that Lady Macbeth rather than her husband seems to be a master of, as is shown
in the next scene when she is able to play the role of the welcoming hostess whilst
plotting to kill Duncan as he stays underneath her roof. You will want to talk about the
way that Lady Macbeth is the one who comes up with the plot and then has to persuade her
husband to carry it through in Act I scene 7, and then has to finish off the job that he
only left half done by smearing the grooms with Duncan's blood. At every stage it is she
who is the driving force behind Duncan's murder and at every stage it is Macbeth who is
the weaker party. Exploring this in greater detail should give you more than enough to
write the entire essay on. Good luck!