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Starting from the emblematic figure of the tyrant in the plays of Jarry (Ubu roi), Brecht (La Résistible ascension d’Arturo Ui), Camus (Caligula) and Gombrowicz (Le Mariage), the author chooses to highlight different aspects at work in the mechanism of power seizing as revealed by literary fiction. The author deals in particular with power struggle made unavoidable by human nature as well as inter-human relations which spring from them. These power struggles generally escape any rational control and seem to be submitted to an invisible and absurd might. Through a detailed analysis of these works and their confrontation with the Shakespearian model, the author shows significant differences which, in the context of the totalitarian dictatorships of the 20th century, contribute to making each of these plays a unique testimony.