The scene serves several purposes. First, killing young Siward assures Macbeth that he is invincible; the young man was indeed "born of woman" and therefore he could not harm Macbeth. The king feels hopeful that he will be successful in rebuffing the attack on Dunsinane. He wins this battle, of course, because he is a skilled, experienced soldier while young Siward has hardly any experience whatsoever. Despite his lack of skill, however, the young man does not shy away from the fight; he battles valiantly. Because he dies with his "hurts on the front" (he was wounded on the front, not the back, which would mean he was cowardly running away), his father Siward is proud of him.
In the final act of the play, which is a series of short scenes moving back and forth from outside the castle to the interior of the castle, this scene helps to move the plot forward even more quickly because Macbeth will fight with more conviction, believing that he cannot be defeated. His hopes are false; he is not immortal after all.
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