Final answer:
Defoe and Swift were not taken seriously initially because they wrote in a satiric and unconventional style that challenged social and political norms. Examples include Swift's 'Gulliver's Travels' and Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe.'
Step-by-step explanation:
Defoe and Swift were not initially taken seriously by people because they wrote in a satiric and unconventional style that challenged social and political norms of their time.
For example, Jonathan Swift's novel 'Gulliver's Travels' used fantasy and adventure to critique society, which some readers found difficult to understand or accept.
Similarly, Daniel Defoe's novel 'Robinson Crusoe' was initially dismissed as a simple adventure story, but it contained deeper themes of individualism and self-reliance.