Now that we are no longer to see the word nigger in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and I soon expect Moby Dick to turn into Moby D., I wonder how long it will take the literary gurus to change Shylock's nationality from Jewish to Italian - how about Silocchio, for instance? :)) - or never mention it at all throughout the play, though, of course, we won't have a play any longer, but Shakespeare wrote so many anyway, it wouldn't matter. Now seriously, I can see why people would get offended, I myself was bewildered a few times while reading it, but I understand Shakespeare's version of the story is the most human of all, especially as a replica to Marlowe's racist interpretation of it and for goodness sake, it was written like five centuries ago.
On a totally different level, have I watched too many romantic comedies or has Shakespeare always been so predictable? Wasn't it clear from the start that Bassanio would make the right choice or that Antonio's going to be safe and sound at the end? OK, I didn't predict Portia's trick, there he got me. :)
P.S. Have you seen Blackadder Back and Forth? And if so, do you remember when Shakespeare gets his ass kicked?