Nathaniel Hawthorne's quotation analysis

The thing being said about war is that war consumes your emotions.

Poignant means touching one's emotions. In the sentence Poignant agonies are within Peter. This would be like feeling that the world wants to stop him getting what he wants most. Every step would be battered against with more force than the one before. He feels like their is no point, but knows there is one deep down.

Streams of pulsating fire are fuelling him onward. Fire consumes things to keep going, so this fire is consuming his will which he must fight against.

The fact that he was feeling torment means that he is suffering greatly. Everything that is happening is crushing down on him and making him lose control over himself.