Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

In Doctor Faustus Marlowe retells the story of Faust, the doctor-turned-necromancer, who makes a pact with the devil in order to obtain knowledge and power. Both Doctor Faustus and Mephistopheles, who is the devil's intermediary in the play, are subtly and powerfully portrayed. Doctor Faustus provides a clear-cut message: the cost of sin is always higher than its potential benefits, and the salvation of one's soul matters more than the ability to fly, to taunt the Pope or to conjure up Helen of Troy.