The paper is an attempt to explore the interrelation between the notions of quality and seriality in literary translation. The point of departure is provided by theoretical considerations on translation series and by an expectation of quality increase to some extent inscribed in this concept. With a view to mapping quality trends in an actual translation series, five Polish renditions of T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” are surveyed. Four aspects important for the poem’s poetics are investigated comparatively and the results are then formalized. The aim is not to assess the ‘excellence’ of the target texts, but rather to map ‘quality patterns’ that can be observed in the particular aspects of poetics as the series develops.