récit

Récit is a French noun meaning narrative or account. In literary terms, it designates a prose recounting of events, whether real or imagined. The récit centers on the act of telling: how events are selected, ordered, and described, and the perspective offered by the narrator. It is distinct from a mere list of facts and from theoretical discussions about a story’s meaning.

Etymology: The word derives from the verb réciter (to recite), via Old French and Latin recitare. The accent on é helps distinguish the noun from related forms and signals its origin in oral or written recitation.

In criticism, récit is often contrasted with histoire. L’histoire refers to the events and content of the narrative, while le récit concerns the telling—the structure, point of view, temporal arrangement, and omissions. The same events can be presented in multiple récits, each shaping readers’ understanding differently through narrative choices and voice.

Uses and scope: The term covers various kinds of prose narratives, including travel writing (récit de voyage), autobiographical narratives, historical or documentary narratives, and fictional prose. Récit can describe a discrete piece shorter than a novel, though some works straddle the boundary with the short story (nouvelle) or the novel, illustrating its broad and flexible use within literary discourse.