At the beginning of the play, Shakespeare presents contrasting attitudes through Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Macbeth presents more uncertainty in his plans which could be argued as slight guilt, and Lady Macbeth shows no guilt in the beginning. Macbeth pronounces, "Stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires." Shakespeare uses celestial imagery to conceal his sins from God by using "light" as a euphemism for God, as he is aware his actions are a grave sin that goes directly against God. The oxymoron between "light" (truth and morality) and "dark" (actions and intentions) shows the internal conflict he is having between good and evil, which could be a sign of his guilt. A Jacobean audience may perceive his acknowledgment of his desires as "dark" and feel slightly sympathetic, as it reflects his tumultuous mind. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth shows no signs of guilt at the beginning of the play. Instead, she is seen to comply with these "deep desires" by pronouncing "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here." Shakespeare uses metaphorical language and imperative verbs to show her desperation to grasp this power she has been presented with. The use of "unsex" shows how desperate she is to be stripped of her femininity in order to achieve her means, and the imperative verb "come" shows her urgency and complicit behaviour to be removed of her femininity. Shakespeare shows their contrasting views on guilt: Lady Macbeth fully ignores guilt, and Macbeth tries to conceal his guilt. This shows the characters to be contrasting in terms of their reaction to their opportunities to gain power and how much guilt they felt from it.

Later in the play, the extract presents Macbeth recognising his guilt on a larger scale and being fearful of what he has done, whereas Lady Macbeth is still not showing signs of guilt whilst Macbeth is. This can be viewed as her becoming more masculine. Macbeth says "Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood clean from my hands?" Shakespeare uses religious imagery and hyperbolic language to convey his guilt to the audience. This quote highlights the large-scale guilt he feels by referencing "Neptune", who is the Roman god of the sea. He is symbolic of vastness, and it can be perceived that Macbeth feels so much guilt that even the Roman god of the sea cannot help rid him of this guilt. He is aware of how large-scale his guilt has become, and that he cannot seek help from the Catholic God as he has gone directly against the Divine Right of Kings by committing regicide. The hyperbolic language of not being able to wash his hands with an ocean can show the amount of guilt he portrays. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, tries to reassure her husband whilst showing no amount of guilt, saying "My hands are of your colour... but I wear a heart so white." Shakespeare uses deceptive imagery to highlight that Lady Macbeth is not feeling any remorse from her actions but instead trying to deceive Macbeth, like earlier in the play: "Be the serpent under't." She is portraying herself as a biblical villain such as Eve, for deceiving Adam and leading to their tragic downfall. This idea could be conveyed by the Jacobean audience that Lady Macbeth can be viewed as a fourth witch, as she also aligned herself with the "spirits" and was accepting of the witches. Shakespeare highlights the enhanced guilt of Macbeth and the inability for Lady Macbeth to show guilt, as she is too driven in her plans. This can also be viewed as Macbeth’s guilt escalating more than Lady Macbeth’s.

Towards the end of the play, Shakespeare finally shows Lady Macbeth’s guilt in the play and Macbeth to be an emotionless "tyrant". Lady Macbeth’s guilt is portrayed by "All the perfumes of Arabia cannot sweeten this little hand." Shakespeare uses feminine imagery and hyperbolic language. The feminine imagery can be highlighted by the reference to perfume; this shows how Lady Macbeth’s feminine side is seen to be shown as she feels guilt, which could highlight her loss of supernatural influence. Similarly, the hyperbolic language of "perfumes of Arabia", showing that even the most luxurious, strongest perfumes cannot rid her of guilt, highlights her moral corruption and mental instability. Lady Macbeth has pursued guilt too late, and the effect has turned her into a tumultuous mental state. Macbeth, on the other hand, highlights no guilt in his actions towards the end of the play. This is shown by him depending on the evil forces: "Something wicked this way comes" – witches. This quote highlights how Macbeth has felt no guilt from collecting prophecies and is eager to go back and fulfil the tasks they ask him to complete. The zoomorphism in referencing Macbeth as "something" illustrates that even the witches are unfamiliar with what Macbeth has become. Shakespeare shows the contrasting attitudes of guilt towards the end of the play — Lady Macbeth's leading to mental insanity and a stronger impact, and Macbeth lacking moral thoughts and going back to the supernatural forces shows his guilt has withered.

In conclusion, Shakespeare shows the contrasting attitudes to guilt in the play and the effects of expressing guilt too late.