The Death of Young Edgar Poe: Some Observations on William Wilson October 1, 2017 Re-reading Poe’s short story William Wilson, I was struck by the significance of the story’s settings and the parallels between the story and events in the author’s real life. The thinly-veiled stand in for his alma mater, the University of Virginia, particularly evokes an important event that changed the course of Poe’s life forever.