Explain the Central Idea of Shakespeare's Sonnet The central idea of Sonnet is the slow passing of life and the growing power of love in the face of aging and death William Shakespeare - tells the listener that he is becoming old He uses three images to show this He is like late autumn when the trees have almost no leaves He is like twilight the dim light after sunset that soon turns into night He is also like the last glow of a dying fire which burns weakly on ashes All these images show that his youth is gone and his life is near its final stage But the poem is not only about loss It also shows the beauty of deep love The speaker says that when the listener sees his aging the listener s love becomes stronger When we know that someone or something will not stay