Answer:
Chaucer's characters are punished for wrongdoing while they are on Earth, while Dante's characters are punished for sins in the afterlife.
Step-by-step explanation:
Both Chaucer and Dante showed in their works how people are punished for their bad deeds. The difference between the works of these two writers is that Dante uses hell as punishment for those who have already died. The characters of Dante, can not receive pardon because they have died so they have only to suffer their punishment. Already the characters of Chaucer must begin a pilgrimage for the earth, while they are alive, until they reach the surrender, the pardon by their acts.